One has to lend an ear when West Indies great Clive Lloyd expresses his opinions about a player or anything that is connected to the game of cricket. And the big man, who led the West Indies to back-to-back World Cup titles in 1975 and 1979, believes Indian teenage star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has some remarkable qualities in his game.
81-year-old Lloyd, during his time as the West Indies captain, had in his team some of the fiercest fast bowlers in the history of the game, like Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Andy Roberts and Colin Croft. They were tall, and they were super quick. Besides, they had plenty of smarts.
Recently when asked how Sooryavanshi would have fared against those extraordinary pacers, Lloyd said: “Well, he would have had a very good test (laughs), and we would be testing his character, his skills, and so on. Yes, he is [agrees with RevSportz host Boria Majumdar that he is a very good player]. He has good eyesight. He is a good striker of the ball. Yeah, so it would be a good test for him and a good test for our bowlers. The point about the bowlers that we had, why it was difficult to decipher what they were doing, because they all did something different. They didn't do the same thing. So, it would have been a great test.”
‘Don’t try to change it'
{{/usCountry}}Recently when asked how Sooryavanshi would have fared against those extraordinary pacers, Lloyd said: “Well, he would have had a very good test (laughs), and we would be testing his character, his skills, and so on. Yes, he is [agrees with RevSportz host Boria Majumdar that he is a very good player]. He has good eyesight. He is a good striker of the ball. Yeah, so it would be a good test for him and a good test for our bowlers. The point about the bowlers that we had, why it was difficult to decipher what they were doing, because they all did something different. They didn't do the same thing. So, it would have been a great test.”
‘Don’t try to change it'
{{/usCountry}}However, Lloyd, nicknamed ‘Big C’ who scored 19 centuries in Test matches, sent out a warning that Sooryavanshi’s style of play should not be tampered with. “I think this guy's got ability, and I'm sure that if he continues to play in the manner that he is playing, and that they don't try to change it, you know, his style of play, I think we have a young man that we will be watching for quite a long while,” he added.
On Sunday in the 50-overs tri-series final against hosts Sri Lanka A at Dambulla, Sooryavanshi, in India A colours, put the opposition bowlers to the sword on his way to the fastest fifty in List A cricket. He took just 11 balls for his fifty to set a new world record. He could have also become the joint-fastest centurion in List A cricket, but unfortunately, he fell for 94 off 29 balls. All he needed was a six off the last ball that sent him back. Sooryavnashi will now fly to Ireland for the two T20Is later this month. He should make his India debut in one of those matches. There is no doubt about that. He has really been phenomenal in the last few months. Lloyd’s confidence should encourage him more.