At the BCCI’s annual Naman Awards, Sanju Samson revealed what Rahul Dravid told Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the night before his IPL debut. Vaibhav was only 14 years and 23 days old when he played his first-ever Indian Premier League match on April 19, 2025.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) roped in the batting sensation from the auction for INR 1.1 crore. He became the youngest-ever IPL debutant in 2025 when he played against the Lucknow Super Giants.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is among the successful Indian cricketers in recent times
For a 14-year-old, making an IPL debut was a huge deal. So, to help the batter mentally, Rahul Dravid, then the head coach of Rajasthan Royals, decided to talk personally with him. Almost a year later, Sanju Samson revealed what Dravid said to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
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On Sunday (March 15), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) honored the cricketers and the former cricketers, who helped the team, in all sections of the game, to achieve glory in the recent past.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who helped the U-19 Team India to win the ICC U-19 ODI World Cup, scoring a record-breaking 175 off just 80 balls in the final against England, and Sanju Samson, who helped the men’s senior cricket team to win their third ICC T20 World Cup trophy, shared the same stage yesterday. When Sanju and Vaibhav were sharing the stage, the experienced batter revealed the conversation between Rahul Dravid and the emerging talent.
Sanju Samson revealed the conversation between Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Rahull Dravid
“I was actually there in the meeting. Rahul Sir called him into the room and told me, ‘Sanju, we need to talk to him. He’s a very young kid; we have to explain how to go about it,” Samson informed.
“So Rahul Sir asked him, ‘Vaibhav, what’s the plan?’ Vaibhav replied, ‘Kuch nahi, Sir, hum to khelenge (Nothing special, Sir. I’ll just play).’ Rahul Sir asked again, ‘What’s your game plan? Vaibhav said, ‘Agar hume pehla ball mila to hum pehla hi uda denge’ (If the first ball is in my zone, I’ll hit it in the air). And that’s exactly what he did. He’s playing a video game of his own,” Samson further said.
In his IPL debut, the young talent registered a fast-paced 74-run innings off 52 balls with five 4s and four 6s against the Lucknow Super Giants. Vaibhav kept his word when he smashed Shardul Thakur for a huge maximum on the very first delivery he faced.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vows to go for the IPL 2026 title for the Rajasthan Royals
The budding talent expressed that his target is to win the IPL trophy for the Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. He vowed to contribute as much as possible to benefit the team.
“The goal is to win the trophy for the team this season. If we win the trophy, it benefits the entire franchise as well as my own performance. My aim is to contribute as much as I can to help the team lift the trophy,” Vaibhav said.
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