VaibhaVaibhav Suryavanshi shot to fame earlier this year when he was snapped up by Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.1 crore in the IPL 2025 auctions. While the 14-year-old didn’t get many chances in the early stages of the IPL 2025, the injury to skipper Sanju Samson provided an opportunity for the explosive batsman. The youngster grabbed the opportunity with both hands, playing some fine knocks in the first two matches and following it up with a century against Gujarat Titans on Monday.
However, not many people will be aware of the role that former India cricketer VVS Laxman has played in Suryavanshi’s career. The left-handed batsman met Laxman in the BCCI U-19 One-Day Challenger Tournament after a solid performance in the Inter-District Senior Tournament in Bihar.
Recognizing the talent in Suryavanshi, Laxman picked him for a quadrangular series against England and Bangladesh but a lowly performance in one of those matches left the young batter in tears leading to an intervention by the coach.
In an interview with The Hindu last year, Vaibhav’s coach Manoj Jha revealed that how Laxman consoled the batter, saying “In one of the games, Vaibhav was run out for 36. So, he started crying in the dressing room. When Laxman saw this, he came to him and said, ‘We don’t only see the runs here. We see people who have the skill for the long run.’ Laxman saw his potential very quickly. The BCCI has backed him too,”
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s heroics against Gujarat Titans:
Opening the innings for Rajasthan Royals, Suryavanshi gave the Gujarat Titans bowlers no chance as he smashed them all over the park. With a target of 210 to chase, Vaibhav’s explosive innings made it look like a small feat as Rajasthan Royals crossed the 150-run mark in less than 12 overs.
Despite Vaibhav’s eventual dismissal on 101, RR managed to win the match with relative ease, eventually finishing with 8 wickets to spare.
