Vaibhav Suryavanshi took the cricket world by storm with his record-breaking century in the IPL 2025, but now comes a crucial juncture for the 14-year-old prodigy. Recognising his talent and potential, senior figures across Indian cricket—led by Rahul Dravid, the Bihar Cricket Association, and the Rajasthan Royals management—are actively working to create a structured safety net around the youngster. After all, in 10 overs, the 14-year-old's life has turned completely as he became the youngest centurion in IPL's history.

"Rahul Dravid sir has taken Vaibhav under his wings and he has spoken to his parents and also BCA president Rakesh Tiwary ji. Vaibhav's parents have been told to pay heed to any advice that comes from Dravid sir regarding the development of their child.

"He has a special talent, and well-intentioned people need to do their bit in order to help Vaibhav realise his full potential," news agency PTI quoted a Bihar Cricket Association official.

Former IndWV Raman, a formercketer and a veteran veteran coachis thoughts and stressed the importance of the family's role in keeping Vaibhav grounded.

"He is a baby and he knows no fear. This is just the start," Raman told PTI, adding: "Suryavanshi ripped all the manuals that dealt with traditional batting approaches to smithereens in Jaipur."

"He is 14 and there will be decisions that his parents will take for him and those decisions will be very important," Raman said.

Veteran spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan compared Suryavanshi's situation with his early experiences, saying, "Batters are much easier to guide. To guide a bowler, you need thinkers. Me and Manni (Maninder Singh) were straight out of school when we played against Pakistan and West Indies as 16 and 17-year olds.

"We had just come after the quartet of spin greats. Cricket wasn't still a full-time profession and there was no technical support or knowledge," he recalled.

However, protecting Suryavanshi won't be easy. "You want to protect Suryavanshi? Frankly speaking, you can't because that's the nature of the beast. He is 14 and he will make mistakes and through trial and error know what is right," said an official at the NCA.

"There is a 'Shubman Gill Highway' and a 'Prithvi Shaw ByLane'. He will have to choose the road he traverses and obviously parents will have a role," he added.

After the IPL, Suryavanshi will report to the NCA's Centre of Excellence (COE) U-19 camp. "And for all you know, kids are kids and they can be brats. And why not? But will coaches at COE be in awe of him or give him the freedom required while working on his game?" he wondered.

"If you say Rahul Dravid will look after him round the year, that's impractical. Rahul is a team coach and not private coach like Abhishek Nayar, who has the mandate to decide every aspect of Angkrish Raghuvanshi's career.

Then there are additional pressures like commercial endorsements and, beyond financial temptations, lie distractions ranging from local political appearances to increased media obligations, ultimately risking burnout before maturity.

"Let me give you a more direct example. Suppose a well-intentioned man gets a an agency to manage Vaibhav, for say 20 crore guarantee for four years plus endorsements.

"But then another agency reaches his parents with a Rs 40 crore deal, what happens then?" he forces one to ponder.

He then goes on to explain, in detail, the many other distractions that would be at play as Suryavanshi grows.

"After 60 days with RR, he is on his own. There would be local politicians, who would order him to come for functions and stand on dais to get photographs. He has at least 14 support staff working for him at RR, five to six may be in Bihar and another 10 at ZCA/NCA (COE).

"Add parents and agents, there are 45 people directly and indirectly involved in decision-making and trust me 40 of them would be useless. But can those five, who are ready to think critically, get that freedom? The Suryavanshi Success story lies somewhere in between these aspects," he pointed out.

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