Nasser Hussain urges India to fast-track teen prodigy

Former England captain Nasser Hussain has thrown his full support behind teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for an India call-up. 

Speaking on the latest edition of The ICC Review with Sanjana Ganesan, the former England captain backed the 15-year-old to don the India colours sooner rather than later following a breathtaking IPL campaign in which he emerged as the tournament's leading run-getter.

“Such an easy answer to give to that is that yes, he has to play. I didn't watch too much of the IPL to be honest, but I watched clips of Sooryavanshi and what an incredible talent,” Nasser Hussain said.

Sooryavanshi notched up 776 runs in sixteen games at an astonishing strike rate of 237.30, while his tally of 72 sixes was the highest by a player in a single edition of the tournament. 

The youngster is certainly not short of admirers, with former India head coach Ravi Shastri already tipping him for an India debut, while more recently, batting great Sachin Tendulkar was also full of praise for the teenager’s extraordinary talent and fearless approach. 

“One of my first games for England was in the Nehru Cup, that's how long ago it was, and this young lad strode out with pads on that I'd never seen before, and his name was Sachin Tendulkar,” Hussain recalled.

“And I was in complete awe and I've noticed Sachin putting out some tweets about Sooryavanshi's bat swing and if you can impress Sachin Tendulkar and if you can impress Virat Kohli and the rest, he's impressed everyone. What an unbelievable talent,” he added.

Sooryavanshi is the latest name in an envious list of batting talents for India in the shortest format with the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan all having featured at the top of the order in recent times. 

Despite the competition, Nasser Hussain believes a talent as special as Sooryavanshi cannot be overlooked and feels India must find a place for the youngster in their playing XI.

“So anywhere else in the world you would say get him in. But usually at the toss you just have to name 11 players. In international cricket, who do you leave out for him? 

“India have a list of batters they could play and should play, but in the end, someone makes such a case, such a consistent case, and such an incredible case for being picked. In the end, you have to say, I don't care who we're leaving out, this lad has to play,” Hussain believes.

The former England captain added that while Sooryavanshi is yet to fully showcase his skills outside India and in unfamiliar conditions, he believes the youngster has everything in his arsenal to succeed at the highest level, pointing to his performances at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Zimbabwe earlier this year as proof of his ability to perform in different environments.

“And I'm getting towards that stage where you say this lad has to play because there are other challenges doing it away from home. 

“Doing it against a ball that's moving around, having an eventual downturn in form, which he's not had yet, finding a weakness, maybe the short ball, who knows?

“But he needs to get through all of that before you get to a world event and he's going to be a star. We saw it in the U19 World Cup. We saw what he did to England in the U19 World Cup, to everyone, but England in particular. My word, this lad is a talent and he has to play,” he said.

Sooryavanshi was part of India’s U19 World Cup-winning squad earlier this year, playing a major role in their win against England in the final, registering the highest-ever score in the summit clash’s history.

Following his recent heroics with the bat, the power-packed batter has been included in the India A squad for the upcoming tri-series against Sri Lanka and Afghanistan starting June 9.