Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Dropped But New Zealand Legend Finds "Great Message" In Decision
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was dropped to the bench as Ishan Kishan returned to the Indian team for the 4th T20I against New Zealand.
Ishan Kishan's return to the Indian team saw Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dropped to the bench as the team management reverted to the first-choice top three of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, and Ishan Kishan. The decision confirms head coach Gautam Gambhir and skipper Shreyas Iyer's intent not to tinker with the batting line-up unless a player is missing due to injury or other reasons. While some were surprised to see the 15-year-old left out, especially after his 19-ball 45 in the third T20I, former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming saw positives in the message Team India sent.
Speaking to the broadcaster after the toss, Fleming said that the Indian team management sent a "great message" by re-including Ishan in the team as soon as he regained fitness, assuring him and others of the safety net offered to players who give their all on the field for the team's benefit.
"His time will come, he will be that person, that incumbent," Fleming said on the Sony Sports Network. "But I think it's a great message because it's a really inconsistent game. You're asking players to go out there and play at a really high level of skill and risk, and if they feel that they're compromised and start second-guessing because their place is under threat, then they don't have that freedom to go out and play right on the edge of their skill level, right on the edge of the limits."
Sooryavanshi wasn't the only player dropped from the playing XI. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who made a return to India's T20I team after a hiatus of four years, featured in the first three matches but was omitted for the Auckland clash.
In three matches, the veteran seamer conceded 139 runs while picking up only one wicket. Mayank Yadav replaced him in the team. Skipper Shreyas Iyer didn't delve into the details about the changes made for the match. While Sooryavanshi himself came into the playing XI as a replacement player for the last two matches, Bhuvneshwar's case is quite different.
It isn't yet known whether Bhuvneshwar will get another opportunity to wear the India shirt, considering how poor his performances were against the Kiwis.
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