New Delhi, July 22 — At just 15, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already found himself under a harsh international microscope. Having stepped up from the U-19 circuit into the deep end of senior international cricket earlier this month, the teenage Sooryavanshi faces a stern test in Harare when India open their T20I series against Zimbabwe on Thursday.

The Harare Sports Club, a place where he hit an unbeaten 175 to make India win the U19 World Cup final, has offered seam movement and bounce to Zimbabwe’s tall quicks like Blessing Muzarabani and Richard Ngarava, who are primed to test his resolve with short-pitched bowling – something which Jofra Archer used to great effect.

However, former India spinner Maninder Singh believes that while opposition teams will actively dissect and target the teenager's weaknesses, Sooryavanshi possesses the innate talent, work ethic, and support system to adapt on the fly and overcome the meagre returns of 42 runs in his first three international games in England.

“Yes, but then again, it comes to the conditions. When you start playing with men after being with the U-19 players, and according to that level, he is a very, very good cricketer. But when you start playing with men, and the conditions were like that in England, where there was a little bounce, there must be some weaknesses that the international teams will catch.

“It’s because in today's time, so many videos are watched and attempts are made to find weaknesses. So, that will continue, and now that you have started playing international cricket, people will also wonder how this 15-year-old will make runs. So, you will get to see a little extra effort by the bowlers (to outsmart him),” Maninder told IANS in an exclusive conversation facilitated by FanCode, the broadcasters of the India-Zimbabwe T20I series.

India’s recent vulnerability against back-of-a-length bowling was laid bare across their games in Ireland and England, where larger playing dimensions gave pacers ample boundary riders to work with and outsmart them. If ever there was a time for Zimbabwe to capitalise, it is now.

Zimbabwe find themselves better equipped than ever to exploit this exact weak link in India’s armour. Both Muzarabani and Ngarava are natural exponents of hard-length bowling via their formidable height and sky-high release points to extract awkward bounce, which means Zimbabwe have a genuine opportunity to make a massive statement against the three-time T20 World Cup champions.

Despite that, Maninder rates Sooryavanshi as an exceptional talent who will find his own method of adjusting, and expects him to start actively working on the issue rather than let it linger.

“But I feel he is a very talented kid and he will find his own way to adapt himself in such conditions. I think he will start working towards that also. The advantage with him is that his coach follows him regularly. His father moves with him. So, his weaknesses will also be found, and they will start working on them.

“It’s because if a parent starts giving his child cricket training from the age of 8-9-10, and he plays for India at the age of 15, then one thing is for sure: the child is talented. The second thing is that a lot of hard work has been done with him. The third thing, which I see in the coming time, is that he will start working on his weaknesses while playing international cricket,” he added.

Sooryavanshi isn't the only Indian batter seeking clarity and rhythm on this tour. For Rinku Singh, the series represents an opportunity to convert the frustration of being a frequent casualty during squad reshuffles into match-defining performances as a finisher, especially with India’s middle order failing to fire in recent games.

“See, they (the Indian batters) were struggling because of the conditions. Probably, if Rinku Singh had been there, he would have struggled too. The conditions are similar here as well. Now, I would like to see how much hard work Rinku Singh put in to make a comeback and how much he was hurt by it. Whenever there is a player to be dropped, Rinku Singh gets dropped from the middle order.

“So, I would like to see how much he has been hurt, and how much hard work he has put in to make a comeback. Then it will give us an idea of how much strength he has in himself – like if he is hurt in this way, then he will perform in such a way that in the coming times, the selectors will not get a chance to drop him. So, we will have to wait and see with what attitude Rinku Singh is coming in this series,” he added.

In the bowling department, leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi, drafted in as a late replacement for Varun Chakaravarthy, faces a crucial technical hurdle. On Bishnoi's recent struggles with back-foot no-balls, Maninder stressed that an angled, erratic run-up is causing him harm and that he needs to work on improving his run-up.

“Basically, when a spinner has a run-up, or whether it’s a spinner or a fast bowler, he runs straight to the wickets. But he has such a tedha-medha (crooked) run-up that his own focus falls off. If he thinks that the concentration of the batter on the back foot will get worse, then his own focus is becoming worse. So, I think he needs to work a lot on his run-up.

“See, he has played cricket in the IPL, for India too, and has shown glimpses that he has the qualities (to play for a long time). But if he doesn't fix his run-up, then this problem that came in England will keep coming. So, the trust that the selectors are showing in him, he will also have to justify and stand up to that faith.

“But I think somebody and someone will have to tell him that it is very important to fix this thing. Otherwise, he will keep struggling and his up-and-down rhythm will continue. Sometimes the rhythm will come, sometimes it won't. When this happens, he won't understand what to do. So, he needs to fix his run-up,” elaborated Maninder.

With Mayank Yadav returning to the set-up alongside uncapped options like Ashok Sharma and Yash Thakur, and Prince Yadav retaining his place, India's inexperienced pace engine holds immense potential. For all of them, Maninder believes the Zimbabwe tour represents a chance to show the selectors that they're mentally ready for international cricket, after a tough tour of England gave India little to celebrate in the fast bowling department.

“Look, it is very important because whoever is in Zimbabwe's team, even if it is a light team, but how mentally prepared a player is, the selectors keep an eye on him as well. Mayank Yadav had some injury problems. Ashok Sharma was talking about his speed in the middle - that he wants to bowl with a lot of speed.

“We saw Umran Malik earlier, and what is his condition? He said that he wants to bowl at a speed of 160 km per hour when he plays international cricket. So all his focus, the strength in his bowling, he lost that, and today we are not even able to hear his name. So I hope that Ashok Sharma will be a little grounded, as he has speed.

“This is a great opportunity for Mayank Yadav, Ashok Sharma, Yash Thakur and Prince Yadav. If you look at the tour of England, it didn't go so well. So they will also have a chance to prove that they are mentally ready for international cricket.

“They will learn from the jhatkas (shocks) suffered in England. But I think the Indian selectors are looking for faster bowlers who can make an impact, and from that perspective, these players have a great chance to prove and tell the selectors that we are ready,” concluded Maninder.

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