NEW DELHI : His international career is not even a month old, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s impact has already made him part of conversations around India’s ODI World Cup squad. The teenager made his India T20I debut at the start of this month and has since scored 193 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 189.21. While he is not yet being considered for ODI cricket, former India wicketkeeper-batter Farokh Engineer believes it would be “ideal” for the team to pair Rohit Sharma with the batting prodigy at the 2027 World Cup.
At present, captain Shubman Gill opens the batting alongside Rohit in ODIs. However, Engineer wants India to reshuffle the batting order to add greater solidity if Rohit is picked for the next year’s World Cup.
“The ideal situation is Shubman Gill and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (opening for India). Gill is a class player. Gill, I think, is the best batsman in the team now. So, Gill should come at four,” Engineer told news agency PTI.
Engineer believes, in addition to the left-right combo, Sooryavanshi’s ability to consistently clear the infield and provide explosive starts would allow the middle order enough time to consolidate before accelerating towards a big total.
“Gill is not a guy who lifts the ball. So, a left-right combination would be ideal in ODIs. So, if Rohit is playing, and I think he should be playing, let him open with Sooryavanshi,” Engineer said.
“A batsman like him (Sooryavanshi) is much better at opening because he finds bigger gaps in the field. Virat Kohli can come third. Gill can come fourth and then we’ve got a solid batting line-up,” he said.
“He’ll win more matches for you than lose you. When he gives a start like that, the other players can have time to consolidate the innings and put on a big score,” he added.
Sooryavanshi has played 13 List A matches, scoring 564 runs at an average of 43.38 and a strike rate of 176.80.
“This is probably the right time to draft Sooryavanshi into India’s ODI side. I don’t know why people distinguish so much between ODI and T20 because for me, a half-volley is a half-volley. He’s been getting runs and he’s got the confidence to open the innings,” Engineer said.
