As the Indian Premier League (IPL) gears up to start on March 28, excitement is building. However, with only the first 20 matches scheduled so far due to state elections, Rajasthan Royals’ captain Riyan Parag has a piece of advice for the young talent Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: steer clear of press conferences and simply relish the game.
“As captain, my advice to him is to avoid excessive media engagements. I encourage him to focus on enjoying his cricket, and I ask the media to respect that. Please refrain from contacting his manager or anyone else; let him play. He’s just a 14-16-year-old kid, and he’s doing exceptionally well. He has the potential to make our country proud,” Parag emphasized during a pre-tournament media briefing.
Parag further assured that Sooryavanshi would have the green light to play freely from the get-go. “He may face some pressure, but I’ll assure him that (Yashasvi) Jaiswal is more than capable of handling it. My main message to Vaibhav is to just go out there and play. If the first ball is in his zone, he should hit it. There’s absolutely no harm in that,” he stated.
Parag is confident in Sooryavanshi’s abilities, noting, “I don’t think any young player has achieved what he has in the past year; he’s scoring runs consistently everywhere.”
The Rajasthan Royals will kick off their IPL 2026 journey against the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.