New Delhi: Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Devjit Saikia has explained the unprecedented move to allow the parents of Vaibhav Suriyavanshi to accompany the 15-year-old batsman on India’s upcoming white-ball tours of Ireland and England.
During last year’s Indian Premier League (IPL), he scored a 35-ball century for inaugural champions Rajasthan Royals, becoming the youngest player since Sachin Tendulkar in the late 1980s to be selected for the Indian men’s cricket team for their upcoming assignments against Ireland and England.
Suriyavanshi, who is currently representing India A in the tri-nation ODI series in Sri Lanka, was allowed by the cricket board to accompany his parents earlier this month, Saikia shared, adding that his father will visit the island nation.
If Suriyavanshi’s parents want to accompany him on the subsequent tours of Ireland and England with the senior men’s team, Saikia assured BCCI that they would make travel arrangements.
“His father will fly to Sri Lanka today,” BCCI secretary Devajit Saigia said on June 7.
“If his parents want to accompany him to England and Ireland, we will make arrangements for their travel. They will be a strong support system for him.”
The BCCI’s unique decision has been a point of debate among the cricket fraternity, prompting Saikia to explain the move, saying the board should consider individual circumstances to address possible issues due to Suriyavanshi’s age.
“You see, all the national teams at the senior level don’t have 14 or 15-year-olds in their squad. After decades, we have someone like Vaibhav Suriyavanshi,” Saikia told the Indian News Agency.
“Once upon a time, Sachin Tendulkar made it to the national team at such a young age. When such a young kid is part of the senior team, obviously a lot of problems can arise,” he added.
He further shared that the primary objective of BCCI’s unprecedented decision is to ensure that the 15-year-old is comfortable with the adult-dominated environment.
“So we felt it would help to make him comfortable and acclimate to the adult environment, where all the other players are above 18, and the team management members are adults,” the former Assam Ranji Trophy player said.
“We are doing this because we believe it will ease many problems as far as Vaibhav is concerned.
“Even when a schoolboy goes on an outing, they are usually accompanied by an older person. Vaibhav is still a child, just out of school, or may be in his final year of school.
“So we thought it was right to allow his parents to travel with him. I am very happy that his parents are taking good care of their child who will be an asset to Indian cricket not only now but for the next two to three decades.