India won a thriller in the 2nd T20I against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, Christchurch. The Men in Blue won the game by 4 wickets; however, despite the win, there has been one discussion that has been going on about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s batting position. Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin questioned Vaibhav’s batting position and believed he struggled at No.3.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has not been used by the Men in Blue properly, as the management has gone with their regular opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, as both have been doing well in some or the other games for the side and thus cannot be dropped. The 15-year-old got a chance after Ishan Kishan got injured but batted at an unusual position.

"He just found himself a little like a fish out of water": R Ashwin on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi batting at No.3

While speaking on Sony Sports Network, Ravi Ashwin stated that it was a miss from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi when he was asked about the 'hits and misses' of the game. The former India spinner believes that it was a miss from the boy wonder because he was batting out of position at No. 3, where he has never batted in his career.

"That is a miss. For a young cricketer like Vaibhav, 'miss' is too early I think to say, but because I have only two options of a hit or a miss, he just found himself a little like a fish out of water. He kept going hard, kept going hard for the eight balls," he said (as quoted by NDTV).

R Ashwin explains why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi needs to be groomed

Ashwin further explained that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not timing the ball and was trying to hit the ball hard, as the former spinner feels that this is where the role of the senior batter comes in, as he would come and calm him down and tell him to stay at the crease and play close to the body and watch the ball and then hit.

"It did not feel like he was ever timing the ball, and that is when you need a senior partner to walk down to him and say, 'Calm down, just hang in there, look to play close to your body, watch the ball better.' Sometimes, as a batter, all you need to be told is to watch the ball closer."

"You do miss that in all the action that happens around you. So I just felt like he was a fish out of water. Walking in during the sixth over is not his cup of tea," he explained.

R Ashwin wants Sanju Samson to bat at No.3 for India

When Vaibhav is in the team, Sanju Samson needs to bat at No.3 if they plan to play the 15-year-old, as Ashwin feels Vaibhav lacks the temperament or style to bat at No.3 at the moment.

"Look, I think they played this combination before, and Sanju had to skip down to number three. If they are going to go with this combination, I am not too sure Vaibhav has got to bat at number three, but it is what it is. Today it was a miss for Vaibhav," Ashwin further said.