IPL Governing Council Chairman Arun Singh Dhumal said that it was the BCCI’s responsibility to show 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the right way to build his temperament. Dhumal also spoke on how Sooryavanshi’s career could build up over the next few years and what part both the BCCI and his franchise, the Rajasthan Royals, could play in it.
Dhumal’s comments come at a time when the calls to include Sooryavanshi in the Indian team are growing more and more. In IPL 2025, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is currently the Rajasthan Royals’ highest run-getter. He also earned a call-up to the India A team for the unofficial ODI tri-series in Sri Lanka recently. Sooryavanshi also won the Under-19 World Cup with India earlier this year.
The sport is also about mental toughness- Arun Dhumal
Arun Singh Dhumal spoke to the Times of India and shared his thoughts on the prodigy and how his career should ideally progress.
“I feel the BCCI and the franchise would need to handhold him in terms of showing him the right way so that his temperament stays intact. Because sport is not only about physical skill, it is also about mental toughness,” Dhumal said.
“And definitely, we will do our bit to make sure that the kind of skill set he has allows him to perform for India for many, many years to come,” he added.
He will also go through ups and downs- Arun Dhumal
Dhumal said that it was natural that Sooryavanshi would go through ups and downs in his cricketing career. He also added that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi would have already learned this lesson even in his short career.
“Like any great player, he will also go through ups and downs. That is the uniqueness of sport. He will fail. He will go down. But this is what sport trains you for. You get up and give a better performance in the next game. That is very integral to preparing you for life. Life will never be a one-way street where you only rise,” said Dhumal.
“I am sure the boy, given his performances throughout this season and as part of the U-19 team, would have seen many failures. But in the next game, he would have tried to perform even better and help his team win,” he added.
The IPL provides an opportunity- Arun Dhumal on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
The administrator added that there was no better example for the IPL’s tagline, ‘Where talent meets opportunity’ than Sooryavanshi himself. Dhumal went on to laud the IPL for giving chances to many talented youngsters like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
“Vaibhav embodies IPL’s tagline, which is, ‘where talent meets opportunity.’ That boy is something else, isn’t he?” said Dhumal. “Talent had always been there, but how do they get the opportunity? That opportunity, that platform, has been granted by the IPL,” he concluded.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s current form and next match
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and the Rajasthan Royals will be in action on Wednesday when they take on the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator in New Chandigarh. In 14 matches, he has made 583 runs at an average of 41.64 and an unbelievable strike rate of 232.
He has also made 3 fifties and a century in the tournament. His 53 sixes are comfortably the most by any batter in the tournament, and he looks poised to break the record for the most sixes in an IPL season.
