Rahul Dravid emphasizes patient development for 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Former India head coach Rahul Dravid believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi needs a carefully managed pathway as the 15-year-old begins to make his mark across formats, stressing the importance of giving him enough opportunities in red-ball cricket alongside his white-ball commitments.

Sooryavanshi, who enjoyed a breakthrough IPL season before making his T20I debut in England in June, is now set to return to the longer format with East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. While the teenager has already attracted significant attention in white-ball cricket, his first-class record remains modest. He averages 17.25 from 12 innings across three stints in the Ranji Trophy Plate League, with his domestic campaigns interrupted by India U19 commitments.

Dravid, who coached Sooryavanshi at Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, said the youngster's exposure to both formats is a positive development. “I think you always have to find that balance. And I think it is a great thing that Vaibhav is getting the experience of playing some white-ball cricket through the IPL in India, but he is also having the time to go back and play red-ball cricket in the Indian domestic system and grow his red-ball career," Dravid said while speaking to Cricinfo. The former India batter also highlighted the wider importance of developing players capable of succeeding in Test cricket. “All of us also want to see Tests survive, all of us want to see Tests grow and we need players like him to be able to hopefully play all formats of the game," Dravid added.

For Sooryavanshi, the Duleep Trophy provides another opportunity to build experience in red-ball cricket. Dravid feels the teenager needs sustained exposure to the format, particularly because he has not played it as regularly as white-ball cricket. “The good thing is he is going to take some time, he is going to need some experience, he is going to get an opportunity to play a lot of red-ball cricket. He hasn’t played as much red-ball cricket as probably white-ball cricket," Dravid said.

The 15-year-old’s rapid rise has naturally brought expectations, but Dravid urged everyone to allow him time to develop rather than judge him solely on his early success. “He is only 15 and I think you have got to just give him some time and you have got to be patient with him. He has obviously been such a success straightaway, right, but he is going to go through his ups and downs and I think people are going to have to be patient with him," Dravid added.