Journalists swarmed his father and younger brother for quotes. After all, their proximity to genius – to Sooryavanshi’s precocious talent – is worth hearing about.
Iyer was, understandably, cryptic about India’s dilemma. “It’s going to be a tight call because they have been performing consistently,” he said. “For the players sitting outside, it’s important that I have an interaction with them along with the coach, and give them that confidence that, no matter what, they will get their opportunity when the day comes.”
On Thursday, he turned up to the Arun Jaitley Stadium and put in a double shift. Then, he spent the rest of the weekend trying out his left-arm spin at the nets, relaxed in his retro visors and general demeanour.
Sooryavanshi’s thick forearms pummelled India’s fast bowlers and spinners, barring Jasprit Bumrah, who beat his bat time and again. Still, Sooryavanshi’s best shot came off him when he drove at a ball speared in quick, nearly a yorker outside off, and somehow sent it racing through covers.
At 189.21, Sooryavanshi has an even higher T20I strike rate than Abhishek, though he has only batted in six times for India. He scored 14, 13 and 15 in his debut series this July, struggling against England’s short-pitched bowling. The Afghanistan seamers are unlikely to pose the same threat. Perhaps that’s why Sooryavanshi did not practise much against short-pitched bowling this weekend.
He has reason to feel good enough about his game: in the Zimbabwe series that followed soon after his debut, he smacked a 19-ball 50, as well as an 81 off 49. He was a sure starter for that series as Samson – after being dropped for three games against England – was rested for the tour.
Samson’s face was ever-present at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, plastered around its walls with banners advertising the series.He steered India to the T20 World Cup title in March with his three-innings sequence of 97*, 89 and 89. Then he found a new home in Chennai Super Kings for the IPL, scoring 477 runs and two centuries.
He is not just on these series hoardings: he has starred in several television ads, and racked up 20.7 million followers on Instagram. Here in Delhi, he returned to the basics with bat in hand. With Sooryavanshi mounting a challenge for his spot in the side, he played with characteristic ease in the nets. The world turned languid for him, even against the accurate Bumrah.
Samson’s T20I strike rate of 155.99 is by far the lowest of the trio, but you just have to watch how nonchalantly, how effectively he gets his runs on the days he clicks.
How does Iyer want to deal with this trio, and by extension, the rest of this India squad? “It is about having a specific player in the right position,” he said. “Rather than knowing the role, it’s important that they should have that awareness of what the team requires from them.
“When you say that this is your role in the team, that puts immense pressure on the player. If you could probably phrase it in a better way, saying that your team requires you in this particular role, you feel needed and you feel wanted for the team.”
At one level, Iyer’s phrasing is a neat bit of personnel management. But it makes sense with this cohort of players in particular. Samson has often been typecast as the elegant but erratic technician. Then there is Abhishek as the reliable hitter in the powerplay. And already, Sooryavanshi is perceived as the prodigy with no apparent ceiling.
We all want a piece of the boy genius and, if the interest in his father and brother is any evidence, everything he touches. Whether he takes the field on Sunday is up to the team management. But in case they want to return to Samson, his batting in the nets provided a clear answer. Once again, he will be ready to slip into his role – whichever one India cast him in.
Abhijato Sensarma is a sub-editor at Cricinfo
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