Vaibhav Suryavanshi excited to play under Rahul Dravid than in IPL at Rajasthan Royals, says ’I have no strategy...’
Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest to bag an IPL contract when Rajasthan Royals paid ₹1.1 crore to sign the 13-year-old in the mega auction in November.
Back from the U-19 Asia Cup where India finished runners-up for the second consecutive time to Bangladesh, Indian Premier League's (IPL) youngest player Vaibhav Suryavanshi is excited to play under legendary Rahul Dravid than playing the league. The 13-year-old from Bihar grabbed immediate headlines when he was bought for ₹1.1 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction last month in Saudi Arabia.
While the whole Indian media wrote about Suryavanshi, the southpaw was busy playing for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 tournament before going on national duty in Dubai.
“I am really glad that I am getting a chance to play in the IPL. I am excited to play under Rahul Dravid sir, more than playing in the IPL, I am happy to play under him,” he said upon returning to India.
Besides training at getting the brains of Dravid, Kumar Sangakkara and their support staff, Suryavanshi will also be rubbing shoulders with the likes of Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jofra Archer and others. Asked about his plans in IPL, Suryavanshi said, "I have no strategy as such for the IPL, I will just play the way I do."
India did well despite not winning U-19 Asia Cup
The youngster also believed that the Indian team did well under skipper Mohamed Amaan in the recently-held U-19 Asia Cup despite not winning the title. Having started with a loss against Pakistan, India bounced back with wins over Japan, UAE and Sri Lanka to reach the final. However, the Boys in Blue suffered a batting collapse to lose by 59 runs, while chasing 199 in 50 overs.
He said the batting collapse India suffered in the summit clash on December 8 could have happened to any team. India were bundled out for 139 in 35.2 overs.
"I wouldn't say that we didn't do well in the tournament, there are days when the team batting faces a collapse. That's what happened in the final with us," said the 13-year-old who emerged as a star in the tournament with two half centuries.
"We are determined to do better in future tournaments," he said. India are the most successful team in the tournament's history with eight titles, with the last one coming in 2021.
The cricketer from Bihar is happy that he has been supported well by his state. "The Bihar Cricket Association helped me a lot throughout my journey. Our president Rakesh sir helped me a lot and I want to thank them all.
“The Bihar CM also wished me luck and blessed me for all my future endeavours. Going ahead in life, I want to represent India at the senior level in cricket.”
With PTI inputs
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Business NewsSportsCricket NewsVaibhav Suryavanshi excited to play under Rahul Dravid than in IPL at Rajasthan Royals, says ’I have no strategy...’
First Published:12 Dec 2024, 05:12 PM IST
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