New Delhi [India]: Former India captain and legendary batter Rahul Dravid lauded young prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi, highlighting that his biggest strength lies in his mindset — something, Dravid said, “can’t be coached.”
Speaking about the 14-year-old’s remarkable rise, Dravid stressed the importance of allowing Suryavanshi the freedom to express himself rather than over-instructing him. “It’s not just about skill — it’s about mindset. You can’t really teach or coach that. When you find someone with that mindset, the key is to manage it, nurture it, and not curb it. As a coach, my job is to give him the platform and freedom to express himself, and to create challenges in the nets that help him grow,” Dravid said on Breakfast with Champions.
Dravid, who took over as head coach of the Rajasthan Royals after India’s victorious 2024 T20 World Cup campaign, worked closely with Suryavanshi during the IPL 2025 season. The young left-hander had made headlines at the auction, becoming the youngest player in IPL history at just 13 years old, signing with the Royals for ₹1.1 crore.
Recalling the teenager’s fearless debut, Dravid added, “That freedom — that mindset — is incredible. To face an international bowler like Shardul Thakur and hit the very first ball for six takes special confidence.”
Suryavanshi’s IPL debut came against the Lucknow Super Giants after RR captain Sanju Samson was sidelined with injury. He impressed immediately, smashing 34 off 20 balls, including that memorable first-ball six off Thakur.
In just seven IPL matches, Suryavanshi amassed 252 runs, but it was his blistering 101 off 38 balls against the Gujarat Titans in Jaipur that stunned the cricket world. At 14, he became the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket, and his 35-ball hundred now ranks as the second-fastest century in IPL history.
Building on his meteoric rise, Suryavanshi was recently named vice-captain of Bihar for the opening rounds of the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy. His promotion came after an impressive tour of Australia, where he hammered a 78-ball century in Brisbane and finished as the second-highest run-scorer of the series with 133 runs in three innings, helping India seal a 2–0 win.
Despite being just 12 years and 284 days old when he made his first-class debut in January 2024, Suryavanshi has already featured in five first-class matches, scoring 100 runs in ten innings — a foundation for what promises to be an extraordinary career.
