Shikhar Dhawan underlines challenges for 14-year-old Suryavanshi after his dreamy IPL debut

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old prodigy, has turned heads in cricket like never before. The rookie opener has had a successful IPL debut this season for the Rajasthan Royals. He racked up 252 runs in seven contested matches, including hitting a record-breaking 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans (GT) at home – the quickest by an Indian and the youngest ever to do so. Having achieved plenty at this tender age, with more in abundance waiting to come to him, former India opener Shikhar Dhawan has warned him against getting spoiled by all the luxuries and distractions, including fame, money, stardom and whatnot.

From hitting his first ball for a six in the cash-rich league to sharing the dressing room with the game’s giants, active and former stars, Vaibhav is exposed to everything this game has to offer, including its twists and turns. While his recent performances (for India U-19) against England U-19 in the concluded Youth ODI series, wherein he hit 17 sixes across three scheduled matches, had everyone keep a close tab on his game, Dhawan seemed more worried about other aspects of it.

"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,” Dhawan praised the rookie opener during an exclusive chat with Hindustan Times.

“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. 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 a big league like that and dominating is unthinkable," he continued.

Although Suryavanshi never looked intimidated during his time facing some of the top international bowlers in IPL 2025, Dhawan feels the opposition will now work on his weaknesses and try to restrict his beautiful bat flow and run-scoring spree. But first, he must learn to manage the

byproducts of success – fame and money.

"For him, the challenge is going to be how he is gonna 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 Paji (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,” he continued.

"I feel that the second year is gonna be a bit tough for him. Bowlers will know what his strength is. They are gonna 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 gonna handle all that stuff is what I am looking forward to seeing," Dhawan concluded.