At BCCI’s annual Naman Awards, Sanju Samson revealed what Rahul Dravid said to Vaibhav Suryavanshi the night before his IPL debut. Vaibhav was only 14 years and 23 days old when he played his first Indian Premier League match on April 19, 2025.
Ahead of the IPL 2025 season, Rajasthan Royals (RR) added the batting sensation for Rs 1.1 crore from the auction. He became the youngest IPL debutant in 2025, playing against Lucknow Super Giants.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is one of the successful Indian cricketers in recent times
It was a big deal for a 14-year-old kid to make his IPL debut. So, to help the batsman mentally, the then Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid decided to talk to him personally. Almost a year later, Sanju Samson revealed what Dravid had said to Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday (March 15) honored cricketers and former cricketers who helped the team achieve glory in all categories of the game in recent times.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who scored a record-breaking 175 off just 80 balls in the final against England to help Under-19 Team India win the ICC Under-19 ODI World Cup, and Sanju Samson, who helped the men’s senior cricket team win their third ICC T20 World Cup trophy, shared the same stage yesterday. When Sanju and Vaibhav were sharing the stage, the veteran batsman revealed the conversation between Rahul Dravid and the budding talent.
Sanju Samson reveals the conversation between Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Rahul Dravid
“I was actually there at the meeting. Rahul sir called him into the room and said to me, ‘Sanju, we need to talk to him. He is a very small child; we need to explain how to go about this,'” Samson told PTI.
“So Rahul sir asked him, ‘Vaibhav, what is the plan?’ Vaibhav replied, ‘Nothing sir, we will play.’ Rahul sir again asked, ‘What is your game plan? Vaibhav said, ‘If we get the first ball, we will blow the first ball’ (If the first ball is in my zone, I will hit it in the air). And he did exactly that. He’s playing a video game of his own,” Samson continued.
In his IPL debut, the young talent played a quick-fire inning of 74 runs off 52 balls with the help of five fours and four sixes against Lucknow Super Giants. Vaibhav made his point when he hit a powerful six on the very first ball of Shardul Thakur.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi vows to win IPL 2026 title for Rajasthan Royals
The budding talent expressed that his aim is to win the IPL trophy for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026. He vowed to contribute as much as possible to benefit the team.
Vaibhav said, “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 goal is to contribute as much as I can to help the team lift the trophy.”
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