Follow UsVaibhav Sooryavanshi broke all the records possible in terms of becoming the youngest T20 centurion when he smashed his maiden Indian Premier League (IPL) ton against the Gujarat Titans on April 28.
What happened post that, nobody knew, until Vibhav revealed it himself in a candid chat with his Rajasthan Royals (RR) coach Rahul Dravid on May 20.
Dravid, while talking, gingerly nudged the batter about his IPL century and how many calls and messages did he receive?
“500 se jayada missed calls tha, but maine phone band kar ke rakha tha (There were more than 500 missed calls, but I had kept my phone switched off),” Vaibhav said with an innocent child-like smile on his face.
“After that century, a lot of people approached me, but I don’t really like all that, interacting with too many people, so I usually avoid that. So for the next four days I kept my phone off, and I had told you about that as well,” added the 14-year-old.
Talking about his stay with the Royals, which lasted about four months, ever since he joined their academy after being picked in the auction for INR 1.1 Cr, Vaibhav said, “We have been preparing for the league for 3–4 months and the results are there for everyone to see.”
“Whatever was lacking in my game was fulfilled in the practice and things that seemed tough while executing the first time became naturally easy in the game due to that practice.”
Dravid followed it with a question on Vaibhav’s biggest learning from this season after having played against such big players and in front of humongous crowds.
To this, the Bihar cricketer replied, “I learned how to focus and there is no such thing as a natural game. One has to play according to the situation and win the game for the team.”
Talking about his future program after the end of the IPL, Vaibhav said, “Now I have an Under-19 tour and a camp for the same tour.”
Dravid advised the youngster to be aware and keep working hard. “Next season, all the bowlers will come prepared against you, and therefore we must develop new skills to counter that,” he said.