Former Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Rahul Dravid has praised teenager Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s talent. This year, he showcased his prowess for RR during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. Against Gujarat
Titans (GT) at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Suryavanshi smashed a ton off just 35 balls and broke into the record books as the second-fastest centurion in the cash-rich league just behind West Indies’ legend Chris Gayle. After IPL 2025, Suryavanshi again hit the headlines for his 113-run innings for India U-19 against Australia U-19 in the Youth Test played in Brisbane.
Recently, Rahul Dravid appeared on Breakfast with Champions hosted by Gaurav Kapur and hailed Vaibhav’s approach towards the game. "To someone like that, the thing you’re trying to tell him is just explore the edges of your talent. First ball in the IPL, he hit Shardul Thakur for a six. I mean, Shardul Thakur is an international bowler, a terrific bowler. It's not the skill. Skill he has. But it's the mindset. You can't really teach that mindset. You just got to manage it, own it. You certainly can’t curb it. As a coach, it's not so much about instructing him but giving him the platform and the freedom to express himself," remarked Dravid.
Rahul Dravid extolled Rohit Sharma for changing India’s white-ball mindset
Rahul Dravid also applauded veteran Rohit Sharma for reforming India’s white-ball mindset. "From the time I came in, a lot of the discussion with Rohit around was that we wanted to play a more aggressive brand of cricket. And we tried, we started right from the beginning because we could see that that's the way the game was evolving and Rohit deserves a lot of credit for it," added Dravid.
Under Rohit’s leadership, India ended the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 campaign as runners-up. However, the biggest success came in 2024 and 2025 when they won the T20 World Cup and Champions Trophy respectively.
