Vaibhav Suryavanshi is slowly learning to handle media questions smarter as he cooked up a reporter at a Rajasthan Royals event in Jaipur when asked about his goals for the upcoming Indian Premier League (IPL) season. The 14-year-old sensation broke into the big-boy league last year with the youngest ever to score an IPL hundred.
Suryavanshi, who came into the playing XI at the expense of the injured Sanju Samson, surprised everyone with a six-ball in the IPL against India and Lucknow Super Giants’ Shardul Thakur. It doesn’t take long for the left-hander from Bihar to leave a mark on home soil with a 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans.
Although Suryavanshi played only seven games in IPL 2025, the country got a new cricketing sensation who scored seven hundreds in seven countries, all in Indian colours. His knock of 175 in the final of the 2026 U19 World Cup laid the platform for the Blue Colts’ title triumph.
Expectations are surely high from Suryavanshi this time as another grueling season is coming up. This time, with Samson moving to Chennai Super Kings, Suryavanshi will get a longer rope at the top for Rajasthan Royals along with his opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal.
In this case, Suryavanshi was asked about his personal goals in IPL 2026. The Southpaw’s funniest answer left everyone in splits. “What are your plans for IPL 2026? How many runs do you want to score, what are your targets,” the reporter asked Suryavanshi.
The left-hander replied, “Aisa question bolage na main do-teen hazaar run bol doonga (If you ask me such a question, I will say two to three thousand runs)” and left the whole room laughing. Veteran Indian spinner Ravindra Jadeja also participated.
First team for Vaibhav Suryavanshi
The young man quickly picked himself up and answered more seriously, saying that he had no specific plans as such. “Aisa kuch plan nehi kar sakta na ki mujhe itne run banana hae. Jo process hae wo follow kar rahe hae aur team ke liye trophy jeetna hae (I can’t plan I have to score so many runs. I follow the progress and win trophies for the team).
“There is no such focus on other personal goals. We are only focused on our process and want to perform well this season)” he added.
Riyana Paraga’s advice to Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Captain Riyan Parag had earlier advised him not to hold many press conferences and use social media to protect Suryavanshi from major media exposure. “As captain, my message would be that he doesn’t hold too many press conferences and doesn’t follow too many media.
“Let him enjoy it and I will ask you (media) too. Don’t call his manager or anyone else, leave him alone. He is a 15-16 (14) year old boy, let him play cricket. He is playing really well and the country will be proud of him,” Parag said at another Rajasthan Royals event.
