Former Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) batter Mohammad Kaif has reckoned that batting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as an opener would have disrupted the current opening combination, backing the team management’s call to bat him at No.3.
Notably, Sooryavanshi was slotted in at No.3 in the second T20I against New Zealand after Ishan Kishan got injured and was ruled out of the fixture. However, he managed to score only four off eight balls in the 181-run chase.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, Kaif reckoned that waiting for chances in the XI would be a bit difficult for Sooryavanshi. He went on to add that batting out of his position is also not an easy task, and he shouldn’t be judged too early.
“It will be unfair if we judge Vaibhav by an innings or two right now, given the phase he is going through. He won the Orange Cap a few months ago in the IPL. He was in great form but had to wait for a spot. For someone who is not used to waiting, who has been playing regularly, it has been stop-and-start. And number three is also not his natural spot. But I feel it was the right call. If you open with him and break the in-form pair of Abhishek and Samson, and then with Ishan coming back, you will have to shuffle a lot then. There will be a lot of shuffling. But by sending him at three, they did not change the batting order, which was the right decision,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Further, Kaif noted that T20 players must adapt to the team’s needs, adding that Sooryavanshi would have to do the same until he gets a chance to open. He also backed the management’s decision to retain the batting order despite the challenges of batting out of position.
“This is a format where a lot of players adjust, even in different positions. Take Naman Dhir itself. That flexibility has to be there. I am sure it would have been tough after not playing and going directly to number three. But thinking from the management’s perspective, if Ishan is fit, he comes back at three. So it was definitely the right call. We have to see what Vaibhav can do when he gets more chances,” he noted.
