Follow UsFormer West Indian pacer Ian Bishop wants Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s parents, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Rajasthan Royals (RR) head coach Rahul Dravid to make sure that the young opener doesn’t fall off the radar after a sensational start to his career. Bishop wants them to take care of Suryavanshi and ensure that good people surround him for the next few years.
In the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 contest against Gujarat Titans (GT), the young opener from Bihar became the youngest centurion in the history of T20 cricket (where data is available). Everyone has been talking about Suryavanshi since then, but we have seen many past instances of young talented players falling off the radar because of their off-field actions, and Bishop wants to make sure that the same doesn’t happen with the 14-year-old. Prithvi Shaw is a prime example of that.
"He's lucky to be part of Rajasthan Royals and under Rahul Dravid, because Rahul Dravid is one of those cricketers who almost symbolises how to keep it low-key. If he can pass those values to him, be like, 'you know what, this is just the beginning, take it easy, put your head down’,” said former Indian paceman Varun Aaron on ESPNcricinfo's Time Out show.
Meanwhile, Bishop added: "It's unprecedented, 14 years old. This is new territory. This is new territory for Rahul. This is going to be new territory for the parents. The scrutiny on him when he plays the next game, and if he doesn't score any runs, you know, there are going to be detractors out there.
"Brian Lara was always one of the greatest guys I saw (when it comes to) dealing with failure. We played against each other since we were 14-15 years old - he was able to take failure, let it run off his back, and move on to something great. This kid is going to be tested.
“Rahul is great. He has a great track record. His parents are going to have to be so close to him, and hopefully - I am sure they are great parents - you've got to surround this kid with proper people for the next five years to ensure this high that he's got so early in his career, there isn't a drop.
"This is going to take a special effort from his parents, the BCCI.”