Sometimes words from legends surmise the raw potential of an up and coming player quite succinctly. And if it is from the legendary Rahul Dravid, a former player, coach, mentor all rolled into one, those words would carry weight in gold. “He is a unique player. Fifteen years after Sachin Tendulkar (retirement), we have new talent. It took 40 years (after Tendulkar’s emergence) to find someone this special.
Maybe in another 40 years, we may have another Vaibhav Sooryavanshi,” Dravid told reporters in good humour whilst talking at an event in Bengaluru a few days ago. And he too has a hand in grooming this prodigiously talented batter.
Two seasons and this is what the teenager had managed to evoke in this cricket-crazy world. It is both romantic and ethereal. And has all the ingredients of a Shakespearean play with five Acts. We have just witnessed the first two—his rise from a nondescript town to Rajasthan Royals and finally the India team. Perhaps, it has entered Act 3, the turning point of his career that would see a legitimate climax soon.
Barely 15, the teenager from Tajpur, a small village 12km from Bihar’s Samastipur, has stirred the imagination of the world. He has sneaked into not just the households in India but also into the most media outlets in the world.
Just like his other-worldly bat swing, the numbers supporting his ludicrously crazy form too seems surreal: 776 runs at 48.50 average and 237.30 strike rate in IPL 2026 for RR. What stood apart was the disdain with which Sooryavanshi took on some of the bowlers with impressive CVs to the cleaners.
In a span of two months, the teen sensation’s face was everywhere. On the cover of magazines to promote every match in the IPL. He was right up there alongside Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill. In a team that includes the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, the official broadcaster led the promotions with the 15-year-old for the tri-series in Sri Lanka. Days before the series began, one of the social media graphics read—‘Ruthless Boss Baby and the Men in Blue in action’.
The tag continued as he was called-up for the senior team tour of Ireland, England and Asian Games. Sooryavanshi was the talking point during one of the morning shows for the England-New Zealand Test match at Lord’s. His rise was being discussed by pundits on a broadcast channel from England and one of them jokingly said, “The ECB are delighted as well, he should help shift a few tickets.”
Put it simply, Sooryavanshi is literally the newsmaker. And it was there to see when he landed in Sri Lanka. The 15-year-old had fans swarming around him for pictures and autographs. The viewership numbers are yet to come, but social media was buzzing for the brief while he batted in the first two India A games. Cricket Ireland officials are giving interviews about their excitement around Sooryavanshi becoming the youngest male debutant in their country. And understanding the attention of the 15-year-old, the BCCI have decided to send his parents along with him to the UK.
However, for the minor, much like the bowler in front of him, the fanfare, craze, everything becomes secondary. His father Sanjeev and coach Manish Ojha have made sure this tenet would survive while growing up no matter how successful he would become. Ojha credits his father Sanjeev, and former India coach Dravid for keeping him on track when he first entered the IPL last year.
“Every player, when he gets to that level, he has to face all the attention, media, glamour. And each player is built differently. Vaibhav has two important things. His father is always with him. Also, Dravid had given him the best possible lifestyle management advice. He is one of the legends. He has the biggest example in Indian cricket with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar in how they handle themselves. Vaibhav lives in the same players’ pool. That is also a very big guiding factor for him,” Ojha told this newspaper.
For those who grew up watching Tendulkar and saw the baton being passed on from the legend to Kohli while Dhoni lifted India multiple titles, it may feel like an exaggeration. That Sooryavanshi is yet to prove himself at the international stage in different conditions. That it may be too soon to call him an “once in a generation” talent. Dravid, however, acknowledges him as one.
As for Sooryavanshi, the third Act in his career would define where he finishes.