TeaTimeTreats: Leave Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to his game

 Leave Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to his game

 By Sandeep Sinha

It is with great interest that one has read about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the young cricketer who made headlines with his big hitting in the IPL while playing for Rajasthan Royals, getting embroiled in an unseemly controversy involving Sri Lankan players during a match of the India-A team in that island country. Opinions have been voiced about the compatibility of talent and temperament and how it is necessary to succeed in the game at the highest level. Earlier, during the IPL, doubts were raised when the batsman got out early, underlining the huge expectations from a 15-year-old boy selected to open the innings for his explosive batting potential in the IPL.

 There was also a video doing the rounds in which the ‘Samastipur Ka Lara’ ticked off Harsha Bhogle for a question with personal overtones: “Sir, aapko Nahin lagta ki aapko cricket ke bare mein jyada poochna chahiye, mere pyar ke bare mein kam.”

 First, about the run-in of Sooryavanshi with the Sri Lankan players. While stand-offs on the field are to be avoided and discipline and sportsman spirit should prevail, the Indian team itself is no stranger to such controversies. Recently, I watched a clip of Sunil Gavaskar telling viewers how the Pakistan bowler Sarfaraz Nawaz would hurl expletives at him after a delivery. He said,“It was the Punjabi version of Ben Stokes.” Gavaskar was known to be quite vocal in his playing days. He famously tried to lead a walk-out against Australia in a Test match after being given out to Dennis Lillee who reportedly told him to “get lost.” The “Monkeygate” incident involving Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds is also fresh in the memory of cricket lovers.

 Again, it was Bishan Singh Bedi who was instrumental in the Vaseline incident involving England fast bowler John Lever. In the days of yore, batsmen would walk when they were out, not waiting for the umpire to lift the dreaded finger. It was regarded as the ultimate gesture in the gentlemen’s game. But in today’s time of a third umpire, every decision is contested, and the reliance on technology is becoming more preferred than leaving the gap open for human error.

So fierce is the competition and so high have the stakes become. In the Golden Jubilee Test match between India and England at Bombay in 1980, the Indian captain Gundappa Vishwanath chose to recall Bob Taylor, who was given out caught behind, because he thought there was no snick of the bat. India ultimately lost the Test match. Besides Vishwanath, the Indian team has had some great gentlemen players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Anil Kumble, but the sport has come a long way since. Who could have imagined a Test match taking place in India in the month of June, between the host country and Afghanistan? Earlier, cricket season was reserved for the more salubrious months of the year.

 The point is, don’t condone Vaibhav Sooryavanshi if he is wrong. Correct him, counsel him, penalize him. But don’t make a monster out of him. Don’t keep blowing up every act of his out of proportion. He is just a fifteen-year-old boy out to try his talent and luck. He may succeed or may not succeed. As of now, he is as good or as bad as the other players in the IPL, some of whom were also immensely talented. Leave the boy alone to play his game, learn the ropes, and grow up.