The former India skipper met with 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi after the clash between Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata. After a narrow defeat against KKR, the Indian veteran encouraged the youngster and insisted him to continue playing with his fearless cricketing style.
The RR opener smashed the second-fastest century in the IPL history against Gujarat Titans (GT). Since then, he has got out twice for single-digit scores, against Mumbai Indians (MI) and KKR. Suryavanshi was dismissed for four runs against the defending champions KKR.
Ganguly, the former KKR skipper, advised the young batter to play the same way and not to change his game.
“I have seen your game. Play the way you play fearless cricket. There is no need to change your game. He has good power. He did not score runs in the KKR match, but he is a very good player,” Ganguly was quoted as saying by India Today.
Meanwhile, the teenager made history by becoming the youngest player to play in the IPL history and against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).
The left-handed batter joined a cricket academy in Samastipur and trained under former Ranji cricketer Manish Ojha. He made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar at just 12 and smashed a century in a youth Test against Australia in 2024. The left-hander was sold in the IPL mega auction for INR 1.1 crore
With a backlift reminiscent of Yuvraj Singh and Sourav Ganguly, Suryavanshi has shown plenty of promise so far. However, with a lot of spotlight on him, RR head coach Rahul Dravid has .
Meanwhile, RR will take on the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on May 12 at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai.
