'Shreyas Iyer and Shubman Gill are captains who have lots of empathy' - Suryansh Shedge's mentor Jatin Paranjape

Suryansh Shedge's mentor and former national selector, Jatin Paranjape, urged the 23-year-old to learn as much as he can during his time with the Indian team in the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England.

Shedge, who represents Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League (IPL), replaced the injured Nitish Kumar Reddy in the role of a seam-bowling all-rounder. Paranjape, who is a former India player, hoped that India's T20I skipper Shreyas Iyer and Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill would guide his mentee so that he can make rapid improvements in his game.

"Yeah, I think not only Shreyas but also (ODI captain) Shubman. Because both of them are young captains. And both of them are captains with a lot of empathy," Paranjape was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports after Shedge's maiden India call-up for the white-ball tour of Ireland and England.

"And they will understand the pressure Suryansh will be feeling, the nervousness that he will be feeling. Shreyas definitely, because they know each other, Suryansh has played under him. So, there will be a lot of comfort. Mainly because he is young and he will be able to relate to what's going on inside that debutant's mind, basically. If you are able to be a sponge... And my advice to him is to be a sponge around all the champions in that dressing room. So, I think if he is able to adapt to that atmosphere, I think England is a great location," he said.

Paranjape said that Shedge has gotten his opportunity through hard work and should be accepted with humility.

"This has come as a lucky break. He accepts it with all humility and he will try to do his best for the team. That's the message. Always be a team-man. Think like a captain and try to win games for your team," he said.

I think he will be genuinely an all-rounder: Paranjape

Paranjape opined that batting is Shedge's stronger suit at the moment, and he is working closely with Subroto Banerjee to help the Mumbai-born become a better bowler. The former backed Shedge to become a genuine all-rounder in the near future for the Men in Blue.

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"But Subroto Banerjee and I are working on his bowling as well. There are a couple of technical things which Subbu (Banerjee's nickname) is working on. And once those settle in over the next few months, I think he is a guy who will be then able to select himself as a batter or as a bowler. I think he will be genuinely an all-rounder," Paranjape stated.