In the five-match ongoing test series against England, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was spotted idolizing his role model, Shubman Gill, from the stands. The 14-year-old gained headlines from the IPL 2025 after he played for Rajasthan Royals and had an incredible performance in the season. Currently he is part of the India U-19 team, where he is seen contributing with his bat. In the last match, he smashed 86 runs off 31 balls; before this, he smashed a century in IPL, and this was the knock from which he gained more headlines.
To this former Indian batter, Shikhar Dhawan shared some insights and gave him many suggestions about the cricketing career. In a recent interview, Dhawan, talking about Suryavanshi, stated,
"How old is he, 13-14? (To play IPL at the age of 14 is a very big thing.) The way he was hitting the bowlers and standing in front of the big boys of world cricket at such a young age is remarkable. When I look at his confidence while hitting the big shots, it's amazing. Thanks to IPL, our kids can now dream of getting into a big team from the age of 5. Vaibhav manifested that dream, and now he is there. A big congratulations to him and his family. A very proud moment for all of us in cricket. A 14-year-old kid playing in a big league like that and dominating is unthinkable."
Dhawan, being a fearless opening batter during his cricketing days, cautioned the 14-year-old about fame, attention, and money.
He said,
"For him, the challenge is going to be how he is going to handle the fame, the attention, and the money as well. A blessing that happened to him is that he was in great hands. Rahul bhai, Vikram Paaji (coaches of Rajasthan Royals). They are very, very good cricketers. They don't just believe in making good cricketers but good human beings as well. It's very important to be a good human being."
"I feel that the second year is going to be a bit tough for him. Bowlers will know what his strength is. They are going to plan better against him. He has to face those challenges and grow. How he takes care of his mental health will be very important going forward because expectations will rise. The self-expectation will rise as well. How he is going to handle all that stuff is what I am looking forward to seeing."