Former India player Mohammad Kaif commented on Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s place in the team for the rest of the T20I series against New Zealand. The Indian team are 3-0 up, having won the series, with two games to go. Vaibhav Suryavanshi came into the playing XI with Ishan Kishan missing out due to injury as well. In the third T20I, Suryavanshi scored a 19-ball 45 while opening.
“You cannot change the lower order to try and fit in all four. Naman and Nitish bowl as well. No one has a doubt about Vaibhav’s talent. Everyone knows what he can do. That is why he was fast-tracked and got into the squad. Who will go out if Ishan comes? Then I think they will go with the same combination. Vaibhav will have to go out. He came in due to Kishan’s injury, not bad form,” he said in a video on his YouTube channel.
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“In Japan, they played an extra batter in spinning conditions. But here, where so many runs are being scored, you cannot take a chance with just five bowlers. We are batting well anyway. It’s not like we are not scoring without Vaibhav. So on such tracks, we will need the sixth bowler. So this is how it will be with Vaibhav. If anyone is injured or something, he will come in. For now, he cannot get ahead of Abhishek, Samson, and Ishan,” he further added.
Mohammad Kaif was also impressed with the way Vaibhav Suryavanshi used the opportunity after failing in the second T20I as well.
“When Vaibhav came at three, he was not in the flow and was low in confidence. But when he got to open, the switch that he made, it shows how mentally strong he is. It is not easy. He did it in just two days. It is not easy after regularly sitting out and not knowing about your future with uncertainty. I hope there are some clear instructions for him from the management. He deserves a lot of credit. He did not let the pressure get the better of him and knows how to come back. It was a test for him too, as Sanju was dropped to three for him to open,” he concluded.
