White-ball cricket’s ‘Boss Baby’ the cynosure of all eyes

From left: The Captains Tilak Varma (India ‘A’), Sahan Arachchige (Sri Lanka ‘A’), and Imran Mir (Afghanistan ‘A’) with the trophy that will be awarded to the winner

• ‘A’ team one-day Tri-Series commences today at Dambulla

By Sa’adi Thawfeeq

All eyes will be on 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, nicknamed ‘Boss Baby’ after his exploits with the bat for Rajasthan Royals in the recently concluded Indian Premier League (IPL), when the ‘A’ team one-day Tri-Series gets underway at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium today.

Sooryavanshi will be seen in action when India ‘A’ play the opening fixture against host Sri Lanka ‘A,’ with the former beginning the tournament as strong contenders to win it. Afghanistan ‘A’ are the third team in the tournament.

The southpaw from Bihar bagged several awards at the IPL, including Most Valuable Player, Highest Run Scorer (Orange Cap with 776 runs), Emerging Player of the Season, Highest Strike Rate (237.30), and Super Sixes (72). He also broke West Indian Chris Gayle’s record for most sixes in an IPL campaign – 59 – by taking his total to 64 during an extraordinary innings of 97 off 29 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad where he hit 12 sixes. 

This tour to Sri Lanka is Sooryavanshi’s maiden call-up to the senior side.

The Indian ‘A’ side is quite a strong unit with three national players in skipper Tilak Varma, Vice-Captain Riyan Parag, and Anshul Kamboj, along with several top performers in the IPL.

The Sri Lanka ‘A’ team, led by middle-order batsman Sahan Arachchige, is a blend of youth and experience. Experience is drawn by the inclusion of former Sri Lanka wicket-keeper/batsman Niroshan Dickwella, batsmen Avishka Fernando and Sadeera Samarawickrama, and all-rounder Chamika Karunaratne. The rest have either played for the Sri Lanka ‘A’ team or for the national Under-19 side.

Afghanistan ‘A’ have a lot of experience in their side with as many as eight players having appeared for the national team in the three different formats. Opening batsman Imran Mir leads the team.  

“India ‘A’ is a good team with a lot of experience. It’s a good challenge for us as a young ‘A’ team. We will take the challenge,” said Arachchige ahead of the contest. “Our main aim is to win the tournament. Whether we play abroad or at home, our main target is to win matches. With the opponents from overseas, we have a slight advantage because we know how these wickets behave and also the weather conditions. We can use it to our advantage.”

“This series is important because there is a gap between international and club levels in any country. With ‘A’ team tours, the young players and everyone gain a lot of international experience playing against international players. We have a good combination. I think we can give a good account of ourselves in this tournament,” he added.

Boss Baby Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

As regards the explosive batting of Sooryavanshi, Arachchige replied: “Soorya is a very good batsman. We have plans for each of the batsmen, not only for him. We’ll see in the middle what will happen.”

Indian ‘A’ skipper Varma said his boys were looking in good shape and they were very confident and ready to represent the country coming after a big IPL season

“Sri Lanka is a very good side, especially on their slow wickets at home. They have always challenged international sides. We are quite prepared for that,” said Varma. “We are quite excited to see how Vaibhav plays in this format. Coming and playing on the slower pitches in Sri Lanka will be a change for his batting, but I am pretty confident that he will do well here as well.”

About being appointed Captain, Varma said: “I never dreamed that I would get an opportunity to lead my country. It is a learning curve for me. I am quite excited because leading the country is the biggest thing you can get. I don’t think it is added pressure but handling responsibility in a positive way.”      

The squads

SRI LANKA ‘A’: Niroshan Dickwella (Vice-Captain/wk), Avishka Fernando, Nuwanidu Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama (wk), Sahan Arachchige (Captain), Ahan Wickramasinghe, Chamika Karunaratne, Wanuja Sahan, Vijayakanth Viyaskanth, Mohamed Shiraz, Dulaj Samuditha, Vishen Halambage, Ravindu Fernando, Chamika Gunasekara, Garuka Sanketh, Kugadas Mathulan.

INDIA ‘A’: Tilak Varma (Captain), Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Riyan Parag (Vice-Captain), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Harsh Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Kumar Kushagra (wk), Vipraj Nigam, Yash Thakur, Yudhvir Singh, Anshul Kamboj, Arshad Khan.

AFGHANISTAN ‘A’: Imran Mir (Captain), Noor Rahman (wk), Mohammad Ishaq (wk), Hassan Eisakhil, Khalid Taniwal, Ijaz Ahmadzai, Baheer Shah Mahboob, Faisal Khan Shinozada, Farmanullah Safi, Shams Ur Rahman, Khalil Gurbaz, Zahir Khan Pakteen, Faridoon Dawoodzai, Mohammad Ibrahim and Abdullah Ahmadzai.

The fixtures (all matches at Dambulla)

9 June: India ‘A’ vs. 

Sri Lanka ‘A’

11 June: India ‘A’ vs. Afghanistan ‘A’

13 June: Afghanistan ‘A’ vs. Sri Lanka ‘A’

15  June: India ‘A’ vs. Sri Lanka ‘A’

1 June: India ‘A’ vs. Afghanistan ‘A’

19  June: Afghanistan ‘A’ vs. Sri Lanka ‘A’

21 June: Final