Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made his IPL debut for RR against LSG in Jaipur in 2025.
Last year, in a match against the Lucknow Super Giants, Sooryavanshi became the youngest IPL debutant, aged 14 years and 23 days, representing the Rajasthan Royals.
According to Samson, Dravid inquired about the young talent's strategy, to which Sooryavanshi responded casually, saying he would simply play his natural game and use the aerial path if the opportunity presented itself.
Samson said that the boy attacked the battle with the confidence and attention of someone entirely immersed in his own universe, comparing it to playing a video game.
“I meant I was there in the meeting. So, Rahul Sir invited him to the room. Sir said, ‘Sanju, we need to talk to him.' He’s a very young kid; we have to tell him how to go about it. So, Rahul Sir asked him, ‘Vaibhav, what’s the plan?’ Samson said at the BCCI Naman Awards in New Delhi.
Vaibhav said, "Kuch nahi, Sir, hum to khelenge" (There’s nothing special, Sir. I’ll play, that’s it.' Dravid asked, ‘What’s your game plan?’ Vaibhav said, ‘Agar hume pehle mila to hum pehla hi uda denge (Like, if I get the first ball in my zone, I’ll take the aerial route).' That’s exactly what he did, actually. He’s playing a video game of his own,” Samson added.
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Vaibhav was picked up by the Royals in the IPL 2025 mega auction after the 2008 champions shelled out Rs 1.10 crore for the then 13-year-old batter. He made a huge mark on his debut, hitting LSG’s Shardul Thakur for a six on the first ball he faced in the IPL.
Then, Sooryavanshi made IPL history, becoming the youngest player ever to score a century. He hit 101 off 38 balls against the Gujarat Titans at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur. It was the fastest century by an Indian and the second-fastest in IPL history.
In seven matches in IPL 2025, Sooryavanshi scored 252 runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 206.55 with a top score of 101. He was retained by RR before the IPL 2026 auction.