Vaibhav Suryavanshi gained overnight stardom with a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans on Monday (April 28) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. With all the attention around him now, Rahul Dravid has revealed the massive challenge for the youngster in the upcoming matches.
Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid is not in favour of all the attention Vaibhav Suryavanshi is grabbing at the moment after his 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) season. However, Dravid also understands that he cannot control people and believes that the 14-year-old cricketer will have to make sure that the limelight doesn’t affect him in the upcoming matches.
The Royals will face Mumbai Indians in their next game in Jaipur on Wednesday (May 1) and it goes without saying that the cricketing world will be keen on watching Suryavanshi bat. “I think it won’t be possible to completely sort of avoid him from the experience that is around him. I can’t control what people are talking about him. I have come to this interaction and all I have heard is questions about Vaibhav.
“It is going to be challenging for him but it is exciting at the same time. I would love to say that we should not shower him with that much attention. Maybe I am being naive as that it is not going to happen. Recognising that it happens and putting a certain level of support around that and navigate that attention and allow him space to be a youngster. It is part of being a cricketer in this country, it is impossible to distance yourself from and (you tend to get) sucked into it,” Dravid said according to PTI.
Having said that, Rahul Dravid is impressed with Vaibhav’s ability to judge lengths quickly while batting. However, he also cautioned the fraternity stating the youngster shouldn’t be compared to any legendary cricketer now. “For me it is really the ability to have that level of fearlessness and not get fazed by the occasion. You don’t get to see that with people that young. The range of shots he showed.
“He is only going to get better. Nobody is saying that he is a finished article. No one should rush to call him somebody he is not. Teams will be smarter against him. T20 format is such where he will have games where it will not work out,” the Royals head coach added.
