IPL 2025: How Rahul Dravid Saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s Talent Before the Rest of the World

Every uncapped cricketer in the Indian Premier League is fearless. Not all of them have extensive experience in domestic cricket, but hyperlocal T20 leagues have helped bridge that gap. A visit to cricket coaching clinics, across the country, reveals how these youngsters are working on their 360-degree hitting techniques by practising scoops and ramp shots.

Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi is a product of the new India, where attack is the new defence.

Former India captain and coach Rahul Dravid has a sharp eye for talent. The T20 World Cup-winning coach gauges a batter's potential by judging how quickly he adjusts and picks the length of the ball. He had seen the spark in the youngster at the Rajasthan Royals' camps ahead of the league. 

"He has a high backlift, bat speed, and good hand-eye coordination in judgement of length. What you look forward to in a young batter is how quickly he judges the length. His power is a combination of all these factors and his natural strength. It is not that every U-19 kid gets picked up by franchises," Royals coach Dravid said at a media interaction arranged by Star Sports Press Room, where SportsBoom.com was present.

Keeping things simple as coach

Though Dravid was a textbook cricketer, his coaching methods are flexible. He trained modern cricketers like Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, and Shubman Gill as the coach of the India U-19 and India A teams before advancing to the senior team. The plan has been the same for Suryavanshi. 

"I have seen some of the journeys going well, and some taking a little bit longer. Franchises don’t always look at only young talent. Vaibhav was picked because we thought that he could do well in this tournament with a little bit of work."

"We have tried to keep it simple with him. We recognised the kind of cricket he enjoys playing and supported him around that. At this stage, we don’t want to confuse him with too many things. He likes to play the attacking brand of cricket. He is going to have games, where it may not work out. That is the nature of T20 cricket. We allow him to express himself as a young man. As he keeps going, he may make mistakes but he will refine and mould himself," said the man with 24,208 international runs.

Importance of mingling with seniors

Dravid is a master of man-management, especially among the youngsters. He understands the concept of knowledge-sharing which helps develop a player. 

"We wanted to make him feel integrated well into the environment. Even after the auction, we had short-duration camps and he was there in all the camps. Getting to know the player, support staff and coaches. By the time the IPL started, we wanted him to have met all the Indian players and coaches. He met the administrators too. And I am sure he is having conversations and learning from Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju [Samson], [Dhruv] Jurel, Parag and even Fazalhaq Farooqi from Afghanistan."

Suryavanshi is already under media glare, and Dravid felt these things were beyond his control. 

"How the media writes about his success and also his potential failures is important. He is a young man finding his way."

Dravid won the U-19 World Cup in 2018 with a team that had Gill, Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Prithvi Shaw. Suryavanshi is clearly in best hands.