Sports Desk
21 May 2025, 02:26 AM IST
Emulating his opening partner at RR, Yashasvi Jaiswal’s act from years ago, Vaibhav’s gesture symbolizes the legacy and inspiration Dhoni continues to provide to young Indian cricketers
From (L) RR’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi plays a shot during the IPL 2025 cricket match between Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, in New Delhi; Vaibhav touches Dhoni’s feet. | Photos: Agencies/Screengrab
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old cricketer from Samastipur, Bihar, idolizes MS Dhoni, who won his first IPL title two years before Suryavanshi’s birth. Despite being from different generations, Dhoni remains a father figure to him—and that’s no exaggeration. After the CSK vs RR match in Delhi, Suryavanshi touching Dhoni’s feet echoed his deep admiration. Similar to how Yashasvi Jaiswal once did, this gesture symbolizes the legacy and inspiration Dhoni continues to provide to young Indian cricketers.
The video of Suryavanshi touching Dhoni’s feet has since gone viral on social media, with many people hailing the youngster’s respectful gesture towards the legendary player, calling it one of the most touching moments of this year’s IPL edition.
Samson predicts “bright” future
Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson has prophesied a “bright future” for young quicks, struggled to find words to praise 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, and vowed to return with a better mindset next season.
Rajasthan drew curtains on its shambolic campaign in the 18th season of the Indian Premier League on a positive note by orchestrating a six-wicket triumph at the high-scoring Arun Jaitley Stadium over Chennai Super Kings.
Samson was impressed with the “temperament” exuded by his “young and promising” bowling unit, which kept a lid on Chennai’s scoring rate and convincingly restricted them to 187/8. In the absence of mainstays Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma, young Indian quicks Yudhvir Singh and Tushar Deshpande wreaked havoc. At the same time, 19-year-old South African Kwena Maphaka added his blistering pace to the attack.
“It feels good. To be honest, we were thinking should we bat first and set a score. I decided no hiding in this game. Decided to chase and face it. We have a very young bowling lineup. We are missing Jofra and Sandeep. But the kind of temperament and planning shown by the young bowlers was heartening to see. They have a bright future. They are very young and promising. There has been a lot of work going on,” Samson said in the post-match presentation.
Despite being expensive, 27-year-old Yudhvir rattled Chennai’s top-order and returned with figures of 3/47. He played the second fiddle as Uttarakhand’s Akash Madhwal took the centre stage with his economical 3/29.
The Player of the Match tore Chennai’s middle order apart, punched in-form Dewald Brevis’s return ticket to the dressing room and struck twice in the final over, scalping priceless wickets of Chennai’s power-hitters MS Dhoni and Shivam Dube.
Delighted with the 31-year-old’s sizzling spell, Samson revealed Madhwal has been working hard with bowling coach and former New Zealand tearaway Shane Bond and said, “He (Akash Madhwal) has played only the last four games. Shane Bond has been working closely with him. Rahul (Dravid) sir and others have seen how hard he has worked. We are all happy for him. The way people are looking at powerplay, there is not much difference in the quality of teams. The margin of error in winning and losing is so less. We have to sit back and do a proper review.”
While Madhwal dazzled with the ball, Suryavanshi enchanted the spectators with his composed 57(33). Known for his explosive nature, the 14-year-old adjusted his game to the demands of the situation and kept the scoring rate in check by applying his brute force.
“I don’t have words for Vaibhav. The hundred he got was sheer class. He can hit a slower ball over cover. Today, when the middle overs were going on, he was doing his job very smartly. He has game at such a young age, which is commendable,” Samson said.
With Rajashtan’s season done and dusted, they moved to ninth place with eight points and are likely to finish in the same spot. Samson felt the Royals could have done better, acknowledged they could have done better and return with a better mindset next season.
“Definitely, we could have done better. It is not about luck. We have made some mistakes. We should come back with a better mindset in the next season,” he concluded.(With inputs from Agencies)
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