For someone who is both young and dynamic and most importantly, absolutely fearless with the cricket bat in hand, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has the eyes of the cricketing world set on him and his incredible talent. It isn’t a surprise as to why so many both in and around the country of his origin are perhaps keenly waiting for him to make his Test debut. One can submit with a sense of gladness that there’s immense positive and gladness with which one anticipates Suryavanshi in the near future wearing proudly the famed Indian jersey. For someone who debuted in the prized T20 league that is the Indian Premier League at the tender age of 13 and by 15 has already struck the record for scoring the fastest 500 runs, both the present as well as the future seem exciting about this thunderous teenager.
And truth be told, since the time the news broke that he could well be in possible contention for the soon-to-begin tour to Ireland, the excitement surrounding the passionate left hander has only increased and grown multifold.
And along with that sort of excitement comes the indefatigable prospect of imagining Vaibhav Suryavanshi representing his country in the purest format of the game, i.e., Test match cricket.
That would be such a delight, wouldn’t it?
Now while surely to see the blazing left hander attacking bowlers for India in the pure Test whites would be such a lovely thing, here’s a legendary cricketer who truly believes that such a prospect may also be tied to an incredible challenge.
So what do we have here?
What are we talking about here? Well, apparently, none other than the great talismanic legend of the game in the form of Ab de Villiers has thrown caution to the winds given this whole talk surrounding Vaibhav Suryavanshi playing Test match cricket.
And here’s what the great AB has shared
“Test cricket will be a rocky road!”
Now here is something for the rising left hand to note and note with due caution. Besides being the most strenuous format of the game and the most physically demanding one - given all the rigours and the challenges- Test match cricket is also a tough competition where it comes to Matters of the mind.
It ebbs and flows.
It demands nothing but the best from you. While surely there’s no doubt about the kind of entertaining talent that Suryavanshi and his great skills bring to India, what must also be considered is that Test match cricket will never be such an easy thing as spanking a bowler to all parts of the ground. It is so much more than just that. And perhaps this is precisely what the great Abraham Benjamin De Villiers was alluding to when he shared a simple context for Suryavanshi’s consideration that Test cricket isn’t always smooth and can be rocky.
