Sri Lanka A captain Sahan Arachchige has rejected the idea that his team is ‘targeting’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the ongoing tri-series, involving India A and Afghanistan A in the island nation.
He said the controversial spat involving Sri Lanka A player Vishen Halambage and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in the last match between the teams was a ‘normal’ burst of emotions for a tense match.
India A and Sri Lanka A will meet in the final of the series on Sunday (June 21). The game in the group stage of the tri-series went down to the Super Over.
Tasked with scoring 14 runs off the last three balls in the decider, Sooryavanshi failed to complete the chase and was met with sledges from Sri Lankan players.
Sooryavanshi initially walked away, but tensions flared when batting partner Suryansh Shedge confronted the hosts, and the teenager ended up pushing Halambage.
Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) fined Halambage for the incident, and there were reports of the team considering apologising to Sooryavanshi, though it didn’t happen. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided against sanctioning the Bihar batter.
“The boys are not targeting anyone or anything. They are just enjoying themselves,” he said. “In a close game like a Super Over, emotions come out. That’s normal,” Arachchige told Sportstar.
Arachchige also expressed confidence in his side’s preparation.
“With the batting, there is no issue. And with the bowling, every fast bowler and spinner is doing very well. I think we are in good shape,” he said.
India A and Sri Lanka A met once before in this series before the Super-Over clash. In that game, the Men in Blue secured a narrow eight-run win.
While it’s hard to say if Sooryavanshi would be feeling any pressure at all, considering what he has achieved at a much bigger stage of the IPL, the 15-year-old would want to end the series well, having managed only 117 runs in four matches. (News18)