Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Sanju Samson

Vaibhav Suryavanshi may be on the verge of becoming India’s youngest international cricketer, but batting coach Sitanshu Kotak made it clear that the teenager should not get his chance at the expense of a player who is already performing well.India begin their two-match T20I series against Ireland on Friday and if Suryavanshi is selected in the playing XI, the 15-year-old will become the youngest player to represent India. The team management led by captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir faces a selection call before the opener. One option could be to bring Suryavanshi into the team in place of Abhishek Sharma and open with Sanju Samson or vice versa.Speaking on the eve of the match, Kotak praised Kishore’s ability but said that team selection should also be fair to players who are already scoring runs.“Vaibhav is very talented, there is no doubt about that. And the way he has batted in the IPL and all the other games, needless to say he has a lot of natural abilities. Because in the IPL he has faced Joffra, a lot of fast bowlers, a lot of experienced bowlers. And it seems like nothing is troubling him. So he is clearly an extraordinary talent,” Kotak was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.“This evening, the captain and the head coach will decide about the team. And if he plays well, even if he doesn’t play for me, it is great because he is part of the Indian team. And I am sure he will get his dues and his chances. So I don’t think just to give him a chance, we should drop someone who is already scoring runs.“That also wouldn’t be right. I think there’s a very thin line between trying to give someone a chance and you being unfair to another player,” Kotak said.Kotak said that the depth of talent in Indian cricket has made selection increasingly difficult and admitted that the job of selectors is also difficult.“If you ask me, there is so much talent in India that even the selectors have a headache. To be honest, I don’t have that big a headache because I am not the head coach and captain. But sometimes it’s hard.”“But one thing we also have to remember is that the guys who are already performing should never be ignored, I believe. The guys who are already scoring, winning games for the team.” bcciWhen Kotak was asked how difficult it was to keep players out of the World Cup-winning team, he said, “The structure is such that players will keep coming.”