All of India is speaking about Vaibhav Suryavanshi. In many ways he is the find of IPL 2025. Though the season did not go as per plans for the Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was a breath of fresh air. But then that’s where the challenge really starts for Vaibhav. From 150k social media followers at the start of the IPL to 2 million followers and counting, he is now a star and the truth is it is not easy to deal with stardom when you are still a teenager.
“Vaibhav is different. When the IPL was temporarily suspended, he did not go home. Rather, he stayed on in Bengaluru and even called Rahul Dravid and went and did a couple of net sessions at the Dravid Padukone centre for excellence. Even now he is just back home for a few days before he is back in Bengaluru to get ready for the U19 tour of England. In fact, he was even ready for the IPL to resume in September and would have requested his parents to travel to Bengaluru to be with him so that he did not have to go home”, said a source close to developments.
Make no mistake 2026 will be difficult for Vaibhav. Team of analysts will be working out his game and bowlers will be ready for him. He will have to be a step ahead if he wants to make a mark in international cricket. “The best part of him is he knows what he can’t do. With the example of Prithvi Shaw in front of him, he is very clear on what can’t be done. Shaw was even compared to Sachin Tendulkar at one point. Vaibhav knows it and is conscious of how things can get out of hand if he allows them to drift”, confirmed the source.
While Vaibhav still needs to work a lot on his fitness and his fielding, the truth is he seems to have a very good head of his shoulders. “Shimron is of a very similar built and Vaibhav spoke to him a lot on catching. He is aware of what he needs to do and will surely work on his fitness going forward."
So how did he celebrate all this success? Has anything changed? Has he changed as a person over the last month or so now that he is the talk of the cricketing world? “No he hasn’t. You speak to him and he will greet you with a very warm smile. When it comes to food all he wants is his dal chawal and a little bit of sabzi. Nothing fancy and no real cheat meals or anything. None of it interests him”, said one in the know.
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The last innings against CSK was evidence how Vaibhav has grown as a player in the last few weeks. While a 35 ball 100 will not happen often, the innings against CSK could just become trademark Vaibhav in the coming months and years. He had a terrific partnership with his captain and played bowlers of the pace of Khaleel with amazing ease. Against the spin of Noor and Ashwin never did he feel any discomfort and that’s what makes me optimistic about Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
“It helped him that Noor bowled a no ball when he was on 44. The free hit was tonked for six and it meant a lot to him. But if you see the innings, it was one of immense maturity. That’s the Vaibhav now and the one who is very different to what he was at the start of the IPL. He knows things won’t come easy and is willing to work the hardest. Make the most of the skill and talent he has been blessed with and make things count. The team management and skipper Sanju Samson has helped him a lot and Sanju even left his own batting position to him after the comeback”, said someone close to developments.
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So where does Vaibhav go from here? Can he take it ahead and be the next Shubman Gill or will he go down the Prithvi Shaw route? From all the evidence at hand we have reasons to be optimistic and hopeful that Vaibhav isn’t just a one season wonder.
Boria Majumdar is an eminent sports historian, journalist, and writer. He is the founder and editor-in-chief of Revsportz.
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