New Delhi [India], September 18 (ANI): India men's cricket team's head coach Gautam Gambhir said the 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will have to wait for his opportunity in the senior national team, stressing that players who have performed consistently over the last few years will remain ahead of newcomers.

Speaking at the post-match press conference after India's 127-run win over Afghanistan in the third and final T20I at the Arun Jaitley Stadium here on Thursday, Gambhir said Sooryavanshi would get a longer run when his chance arrived.

'From Vaibhav's point of view, it was a very clear conversation that he will have to wait for his opportunity. We know the kind of talent he has and what he can do, but someone who has been performing for the last 2-3 years will always be ahead of someone who has just entered the team. Whenever he gets his run, he will get a longer run as well. That is what Indian cricket is all about-we want competition and talent in the dressing room, but that's how cricket goes. Whether you're a 15-year-old or a 30-year-old, when you have to wait for your opportunity, you have to wait for your opportunity,' said the head coach.

Sooryavanshi was not included in the playing XI in any of the three T20Is against Afghanistan, with Sanju Samson featuring throughout the series.

Gambhir backed Samson's selection, saying the wicketkeeper-batter's talent and past performances warranted his place in the dressing room. Samson scored 50 in the series-deciding match after registering another half-century in the previous game.

'I think his [Samson's] talent itself is enough for him to be in the dressing room. I think he's shown what he's capable of. Someone doesn't become a Player of the Tournament in a World Cup without having that talent. So he's done enough. Obviously, it was tough-probably the toughest decision I've taken in my coaching tenure was leaving him out in that England series, considering how he performed prior to that,' said Gambhir.

Gambhir said India had been keen to return to the combination that won the T20 World Cup, adding that a few failures did not make established players bad.

'But again, sometimes you go with player form as well. In this series, we were always very clear from my point of view that we wanted to go back to the combination we had during the World Cup. Because those guys, after three or four failures, do not become bad players," he said.

"The cricket we've played-if a team has gone unbeaten from one World Cup to another and won the World Cup, I'm sure it's a gun team. Suddenly, it doesn't become a bad team after one or two series, and these guys do not become bad players after two or three failures. That is what these guys have shown here as well,' he added.

India completed a 3-0 series sweep with a 127-run victory in the final T20I. Abhishek Sharma smashed 108 off 34 balls, including a 31-ball century, as India posted 221 for seven before bowling Afghanistan out for 94 in 14.1 overs.

Turning to India's ODI squad for the upcoming home series against West Indies, Gambhir acknowledged that the Asian Games schedule had affected selection, but said it would provide opportunities to emerging players, including Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi and Punjab batter Naman Dhir.

India are set to host West Indies for a three-match ODI series starting September 27 in Thiruvananthapuram.

'We know that it's not ideal when you're preparing for a World Cup which is in a year's time. But again, the Asian Games squad was selected long back, and sometimes it's difficult for the selectors when they have to put the best squad in place. So, we always knew that if the best team goes-or the frontline players go to the Asian Games-we will probably have to compromise a bit in this ODI series against the West Indies,' said Gambhir.

Gambhir said the upcoming three ODIs would allow the newcomers to demonstrate their capabilities in the white-ball format and help expand India's pool of players.

'But again, it gives other players opportunities as well. In a series like this, you've got young guys like Naman Dhir and Auqib getting opportunities in the squad, so they can show what they bring in the white-ball format. Obviously, the bigger the pool, the better it is for us. We have this opportunity in the next three ODI games. Normally, when all players are available, sometimes players might not get that chance, but now with guys like Auqib and Naman, they will get their opportunities. So from one end it's good, but on the other side, obviously we want the best players as well,' he said.

India's squad for Windies ODIs: Shubman Gill [C], Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul [VC], Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir. (ANI)