New Delhi: Vaibhav Suryavanshi has been the talk of the town in the cricketing world ever since he blazed his way to becoming the youngest player to hit an IPL century. Playing just his third IPL game, the left-handed opener smacked a whirlwind 100 off just 35 balls for the Rajasthan Royals against a quality Gujarat Titans’ bowling line-up to leave the cricketing world jaw-dropped.

The spotlight on Suryavanshi, just 14, also means that the Indian cricket ecosystem should have a sensitive and professional approach to ensure his upward trajectory continues and that he becomes an asset for the national team in the future. There’s a school of thought that feels that sounds of recent adulation must not distract people around Suryavanshi from the work needed for him to become a long-term success.

Rahul Dravid, the current Rajasthan Royals head coach, remarked that the task of managing young Suryavanshi, now the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket, presented both exciting and challenging aspects for Indian cricket, something which he admitted had occupied paramount space in his mind.

“What can we do for Vaibhav? I think it's going to be challenging. Right just from this very interview I've come, every single question I've been asked has been about Vaibhav, right? So, I mean, it's exactly the thoughts that it's going on in the top of my head that this is going to be challenging for him and for the kid.

“I mean, it's going to be challenging. But it's also exciting. I think it's going to be exciting as well as it's going to be challenging. I think, again, I would love to say that, maybe we should not shower him with that much attention and that much focus. But maybe I'm being naïve and maybe I'm not being realistic because maybe that is going to happen.

“So like I said and answered earlier, maybe it's just a question of putting a bit of a support system around him and trying to help him navigate that as best as he possibly can, because as I can see here, all I've heard is questions only about Vaibhav, right?” said Dravid to IANS on the Star Sports Press Room on Wednesday.

Indian cricket has seen instances in the past where young batters have done well in a few innings, but faded away soon due to a lack of proper mentorship and not being surrounded by the right people to move in the right direction in their cricketing careers.

Dravid, who previously served as India U19, A and senior team levels apart from being the head of cricket at the National Cricket Academy (now called BCCI CoE), clearly knows a thing or two about managing and nurturing many young cricketers.

When in the national set-up, he saw the likes of Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill, Khaleel Ahmed, Washington Sundar, Riyan Parag and Yashasvi Jaiswal among others grow from talented teenagers to be mainstays of the national and their respective IPL teams. Thus, Dravid’s views on managing Suryavanshi carry significant weight, acting as an authoritative guide for the larger ecosystem.

Coming to IPL 2025, eighth-placed RR need wins in their remaining four matches to have a slim chance at entering the playoffs – one of which happens against Mumbai Indians at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium today.

With this week of the tournament seeing RR and Kolkata Knight Riders upstaging higher-ranked sides like GT and Delhi Capitals respectively, Dravid feels the approach of RR taking it one game at a time, without worrying about the playoffs scenario, will serve his team well.

“In terms of this thing, I think we recognise that we are - by losing a few close games - a bit lower down in the table. So we are really focusing on taking it just one game at a time, and not looking too far ahead. I do believe this is a tournament that the teams are really close irrespective of whether and where they are in the points table.

“You will see that even teams that are finished lower down at seventh, eighth and ninth, can easily beat some of the top two or three teams. I think the margins have been really small, the teams are really tight and it's just one of those things.

“If the rub of the green goes your way, you can have a bit of a run and if it doesn't, you can slide back very quickly. So sometimes you can overanalyse and overthink this too much, but it is a tight tournament.

“I completely recognise that we are with six points pretty far down the table and we just have to take it one game at a time. We know we have to try and win every single game, but it starts by trying to win the next one and not worrying about what else happens on the table and so that’s where we stand,” he concluded.

Catch the Rajasthan Royals vs Mumbai Indians today at 4pm on SuperSport. - IANS

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