‘Platform and the freedom…’: India’s World Cup-winning coach shares massive advice for Vaibhav Suryavanshi

Vaibhav Suryavanshi earned up a name for himself during the IPL 2025 and left the entire cricket fanbase shocked with his power-hitting. Though Vaibhav only played seven matches for RR, he finished the season with 252 runs.

There is still no doubt that Vaibhav Suryavanshi has a lot of work to do before he gets his maiden Indian cap. Rahul Dravid has hence reminded Vaibhav to remain grounded and continue his attacking mindset while batting. Dravid also noted that it will be important for coach to allow the teenager to openly express himself.

“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,” Dravid said on Breakfast with Champions.

“Creating certain set of difficulties in the nets, or creating different situations, which then allow him. Or feeding him stuff that he might not be strong at. And then allowing him to discover how he does it, finds his own unique way of doing it. That would be a good way to go about it,” Dravid stated.

Speaking about Vaibhav Suryavanshi, he is currently playing as the vice-captain for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy. The team won their opening match against Arunachal Pradesh by an innings and 165 runs before ending their second game against Manipur in a tie.