Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should play all formats: Rahul Dravid

Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid believes teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi should be encouraged to play all formats of cricket, saying his development could also benefit the future of Test cricket.

“All of us also want to see Test cricket survive, all of us want to see Test cricket grow, and we need players like him to be able to hopefully play all formats of the game,” Dravid told ESPNcricinfo.

Dravid stressed the importance of striking the right balance in Sooryavanshi’s development. While the 15-year-old has gained valuable experience in white-ball cricket through the IPL, Dravid feels it is equally important for him to spend time playing red-ball cricket at the domestic level.

“I think you always have to find that balance,” Dravid said. “It’s a great thing that Vaibhav is getting the experience of playing some white-ball cricket through the IPL in India, but he’s also having the time to go back and play red-ball cricket in the Indian domestic system and grow his red-ball career.”

Sooryavanshi began the new domestic season with East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, giving him another opportunity to develop his red-ball skills.

“The good thing is he’s going to take some time, he’s going to need some experience, he’s going to get an opportunity to play a lot of red-ball cricket,” Dravid said. “He’s not played as much red-ball cricket as probably white-ball cricket.”

Dravid also urged patience with the youngster, who has made a remarkable impact at a very early age.

“He’s only 15 and I think you’ve got to just give him some time and you’ve got to be patient with him,” he said. “He’s obviously been such a success straightaway, right, but he’s going to go through his ups and downs and I think people are going to have to be patient with him.”

Dravid cautioned that Sooryavanshi will inevitably experience difficult phases in his career despite his early success.

“I think he’s going to have some success but he also might have periods where it probably doesn’t work out well for him,” he said. “But let’s all remember he’s only 15 and he has a long way to go.”

The former India coach also pointed out that Sooryavanshi’s decision to focus on domestic red-ball cricket rather than playing T20 competitions around the world could prove crucial to his long-term development.

“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, by not playing in T20 competitions all over the world, is actually playing in the red-ball Indian domestic competition. He’s growing, he’s getting better at red-ball skills,” Dravid said.

Dravid hopes Sooryavanshi can eventually translate his white-ball success into the longer format and emerge as a Test player for India.

“Hopefully someday if he does well and performs well like he has in white-ball cricket, he might become a red-ball player for India,” he said. “And how exciting that would be for the world game as well.”