Former India left-arm spinner Murali Kartik has said the Indian team management should give young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a clear and honest picture of where he stands in the squad, arguing that the truth — however hard it may be to hear — is far better than keeping a young cricketer guessing about his future.
Kartik's remarks add a veteran's perspective to the ongoing conversation around Sooryavanshi, the promising youngster who has already made his international debut but now finds himself waiting for his next opportunity in a squad brimming with batting options. The former spinner stressed that selection calls must be guided by what the team actually needs rather than by the noise and excitement that often surrounds a young talent after a breakthrough moment.
Sooryavanshi's story so far reads like a script written for cinema. Handed his India debut in England when senior wicketkeeper-batter Samson was going through a lean patch with the bat, the youngster walked straight into the national team and showed glimpses of the ability that had brought him into the selectors' frame. But international cricket is rarely a straight road, and since that debut, the door has not opened as regularly as his admirers might have hoped.
With the established names back among the runs, the pecking order has reasserted itself, and Sooryavanshi has had to content himself with a place on the fringes.
That, according to Kartik, is precisely why honesty matters now. Rather than letting the youngster drift in uncertainty about why he is not playing and what he must do to return to the eleven, the management should sit him down and explain the reality of the situation.
The point, Kartik suggested, is not that the youngster is not good enough — it is that selection is a matter of timing and team requirements, and when the players ahead of you are doing well, there is simply no vacancy.
"Even if you have to give them the harsh truth, it's better to give it to them, because you take it on your chin," Kartik said. "Nobody is saying that he's not there. It's just that sometimes when the others are doing well, you cannot."
The comment captures a tension that has long existed in Indian cricket: the balance between nurturing emerging talent and respecting the performances of the incumbents. India has never been short of batting riches, and competition for places in the top order is among the fiercest in world cricket.
For every young batter who breaks through, there are several experienced hands fighting to hold on to their spots, and the selectors are often left choosing between promise and proof.
Kartik's larger argument is that this choice should always be made on cricketing grounds. Hype, he indicated, should not fast-track a player into the side any more than reputation should keep a fading one there. What matters is what the team requires for the next assignment — the conditions, the opposition, and the form of those available.
If a young player is not needed for a particular series or tour, it is more respectful, in Kartik's view, to tell him that plainly than to leave him reading between the lines of squad announcements.
The theme of patience has already been sounded from within the dressing room. Head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Shreyas Iyer have both spoken publicly about Sooryavanshi's situation, urging the youngster to stay patient and to keep his preparation consistent. The message from the leadership is that his time will come if he keeps doing the right things — working on his game, staying ready, and treating every opportunity in domestic cricket as a chance to press his case.
Kartik's intervention does not contradict that message; rather, it sharpens it. Where the coach and captain have offered reassurance, the former spinner is asking for candour to accompany it. In his telling, telling a young player the truth about where he stands is not discouragement — it is the highest form of respect. A player who knows exactly what is expected of him can channel his efforts productively instead of being consumed by speculation about his standing.
There is also a psychological dimension to the argument that will resonate with anyone who has followed young Indian cricketers' journeys. Indian cricket's talent pipeline is so prolific that players can go from being the toast of the nation one season to being forgotten the next. For a youngster, the silence that follows a debut can be deafening.
Clear communication from the management — explaining selection logic, identifying areas for improvement, and laying out a roadmap back — can be the difference between a player who grows from the experience and one who is diminished by it.
History offers both cautionary tales and success stories. Indian cricket has seen prodigious talents stall because they were neither backed consistently nor told plainly what was required of them. It has also seen players who spent long spells on the sidelines — watching, waiting, working — before seizing their moment and holding it for years.
The common thread in the success stories is rarely luck; it is usually a combination of honest feedback, personal resilience, and a management that kept the lines of communication open.
In Sooryavanshi's case, the circumstances of his debut add another layer to the discussion. He was brought in when Samson was struggling for runs — a selection driven by an immediate need rather than a long-term plan. When the need changed, so did the selection. That is the nature of team sport, and Kartik's point is that the youngster deserves to hear exactly that explanation rather than being left to piece it together from team sheets.
The broader debate about how India handles its young cricketers is unlikely to end with these comments. Fans and commentators will continue to argue about who should play and when, and social media will continue to amplify every selection decision into a verdict on a player's career.
But beneath the noise, the principles Kartik is articulating are straightforward: pick the team the conditions demand, tell young players the truth about where they stand, and let honesty — not hype — shape the path from the fringes to the first eleven.
For Sooryavanshi, the road ahead remains long and full of possibility. He has already achieved what millions of aspiring cricketers dream of: pulling on the India jersey. What happens next will depend on runs, on form, and on timing — and, if Kartik has his way, on a management willing to look him in the eye and tell him exactly where he stands.
(Reporting based on The Times of India.)