Indian bowling coach Morne Morkel believes that batting star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s continuously being with the Indian team will help him in his development as a player. The young talent, who has taken the Indian taking cricket by storm, has not got a consistent run in the Indian side, with the management sticking with the established combination of Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson. 

But Morkel is of the view that whether or not Vaibhav features in the playing XI his presence in the Indian camp will give him a great deal of exposure in enhancing his standards. Young blaster was on fire in the IPL 2026, finishing as the top run scorer with 776 runs. Following his batting prowess in the IPL, he was handed a national call-up ahead of the Ireland T20Is in June. 

“We all know the talent of Vaibhav. I think the more time he spends in this environment with the quality players, the more time he trains at this standard, which will only be great for his cricket. And if he's not getting that game time, he's still on a bus, in the dugout, in the hotel with guys with a lot of experience. And I think with him sharing that sort of dressing room and talking through guys, just actually watching how the guys go through their processes and how they set up innings will be key for him,” Morkel said at the press conference. 

"And I'm a big believer sometimes, if you put guys in the right environment and they can ask the right questions and they can observe. So, I always challenge them. I said, ‘Watch what this guy is doing in training. How does he face his first 15 balls? When we get to stuff, what sort of game plan does he come up with?' And for any young player, whether he gets game time or that game time is a little limited, it's still our job to make sure these guys learn, grow, and ask questions. I think that for me is a fantastic growth sort of mind map,” Morkel said. 

“I always ask him on the bus, ‘What is the one thing you have learned today? Tell me what you think about that guy’s batting’. That makes him think, and I think next time he comes to the nets, the sort of things he will observe, he will adapt to his game.”

When asked whether Sooryavanshi will be given the responsibility to open the innings for India the upcoming T20Is against West Indies, Morkel said the decision lies with the head coach Gautam Gambhir. 

'I'm pretty sure, you know, Gautam will look to rotate. I mean, like I said, that is up to the selectors and the coach and the captain in terms of the playing XI, or which playing XI will be the best to win a game for India in our next World Cup. And that has always been the main focus,' Morkel said.