Vaibhav is a young man finding his way, says Dravid
RR head coach speaks of setting up a support system to help their young record-setter deal with the attention
Mumbai: Rahul Dravid admitted he was perhaps being “naive” and “not realistic” to hope there won’t be too much attention on Vaibhav Suryavanshi. In Dravid’s thirty-minute virtual press meet on Wednesday, the bulk of the questions revolved around Rajasthan Royals’ 14-year-old boy wonder from Bihar. The news of the IPL’s new find’s 35-ball hundred has travelled across the globe, even to non-cricketing pockets.
“Vaibhav wasn’t just picked because he was young but because we felt with a little bit of work, he could actually do well,” Dravid said on Star Sports Press Room.
RR conducted three-four short duration camps after the auction and Suryavanshi was part of each of those camps. “A shy boy and obviously he’ll take some time to open up,” said Dravid. “But at no stage do you feel he’s intimidated or holding back.”
One could see that during his whirlwind knock against Gujarat Titans itself. Beaten and having survived a close lbw appeal off the first ball he faced against Rashid Khan, the leading T20 spinner, Suryavanshi’s next move was to swing his bat even harder.
“For me, it’s just the ability of him to have that level of fearlessness and not get fazed by the occasion or what was happening around him. You don’t get to see that with people who are so young,” said Dravid. “Just the range of shots as well that he showed, he’s only going to develop and get better. Nobody is saying he’s a finished article. Not too much should be rushed into proclaiming something he’s not. He is what he is - an exceptionally talented young player who’s working really hard and has got some great skills and abilities.”
Asked if he had seen a better ball striker, so young, Dravid came up with a long list. Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Prithvi Shaw. He even named Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi and Khaleel Ahmed among young bowling finds. “I’ve seen some journeys go really well, and some take a little bit longer and that’s fine,” he said. “I think everyone can recognize the fact that Vaibhav’s going to have some success, he’s going to have some failures. We are all going to have to be mindful that he’s a young man finding his way.”
The RR head coach alluded to creating a support system to help Suryavanshi navigate all the attention, which he said, is part of being a cricketer in India. “It’s impossible to distance yourself hundred percent from it, but neither do you want to get sucked into it completely as well,” said Dravid.
Having set up modern-day Indian cricket’s supply chain from his days as NCA Director, Dravid’s tutelage is just right for RR’s rising star to soak in the applause and graduate to the next level.
