Sri Lanka A vice-captain Dickwella on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 'Exciting talent, not trying to stop him'

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (AP Photo)

CHENNAI: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has generated massive interest ahead of the India A’s tri-series opener against Sri Lanka A in Dambulla and the opposition vice-captain Niroshan Dickwella admitted that he is expecting the prodigy to come out firing on all cylinders. “I’m glad to be a wicketkeeper, because I won’t be getting many of the balls when he is batting. He’s an exciting talent, and everyone loves the way the BCCI is handling him at this age and giving him opportunities in the ‘A’ team to perform. He’s not only a motivation for young Sri Lankan cricketers, but for youngsters all over the world. He hasn’t played a lot of List ‘A’ cricket, but this is a good opportunity for him to showcase his talent, explore, and show that he’s a very good short-format player. And, you know, we’re looking forward to this contest,” Dickwella told TOI. When asked how Sri Lanka ‘A’ plan to stop him, Dickwella said, “We’re not trying to stop him, but, we’ll try to execute our basics first. We’ve some plans for him and for the whole Indian batting line-up. But, on that day, on the merit of how he is going to take the bowlers on, we will try and keep him down. The conditions here are different... I think in the IPL they have flatter pitches, but here in Sri Lanka we have huge grounds,” he said. Dickwella himself is on a comeback trail. Now back in the Sri Lanka ‘A’ setup, he would hope to reclaim his spot in the senior side. (Watch Sri Lanka ‘A’ vs India ‘A’ One-Day tri series from 10:00 AM on Sony Network)