‘For me, it is his fearlessness….’: RR head coach Dravid on 14-year-old Suryavanshi

MUMBAI: Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach and former Indian captain Rahul Dravid on Tuesday spoke on 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, saying that his “fearlessness” and ability to stay unaffected by the occasion or pressure around him make him special.

Suryavanshi, aged just 14 years and 32 days, registered his name in cricket history books as the youngest centurion in T20 cricket and the fastest Indian centurion in IPL history during the clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Monday, making a mockery of a 210-run chase along with his batting partner, Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Speaking on Star Sports Press Room to the media, Dravid said about Suryavanshi, “For me, it is really his fearlessness and the way he does not get fazed by the occasion or the pressure around him, that’s something truly special. You do not usually see that in someone so young. He also has a remarkable range of shots.”

Dravid highlighted that the youngster will need to keep working hard on his game and keep improving, as teams will get smarter against him and he will face ups and downs in his career.

“From our side, we are just encouraging him to play the way he enjoys-—take the game on and express himself. Of course, he will make mistakes and learn from them, but for now, we just want him to have fun and soak in the experience,” he added.

Dravid also highlighted how the team has retained younger Indian talent like skipper Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, even though they had to compromise on their overseas line-up.

“I have seen many talented youngsters—Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prithvi Shaw, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Khaleel Ahmed—and some of them have taken different timelines to develop, and that is okay. Vaibhav was not picked just because he is young, we genuinely felt that with a bit of work, he could succeed in this tournament. He has got a high backlift, great bat speed, and very sharp hand-eye coordination. His ability to pick up length quickly is impressive, and that gives him real power,” he added.

Dravid highlighted how Jaiswal, in his early 20s, has taken a senior role in the side that he has been associated with since 2020, the year when his IPL career started.

“Yashasvi has been incredibly consistent this season. Even at 22-23 years, he’s taking on a bit of a senior role, especially when playing alongside someone like Vaibhav. It is great for his development too—to look back at how others supported him in his early years and now pay that forward by guiding younger players,” he concluded.

Jaiswal is the fourth-highest run-getter of the season, with 426 runs and an average of 47.33, with a strike rate of over 152 and five fifties. His best score is 75. (ANI)