New Delhi, March 15 At 14, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a U-19 World Cup winner, now aims to win the Indian Premier League title for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season.
Sooryavanshi made a splash in the 2025 IPL by becoming the youngest centurion in the tournament, and earlier this year, his 175-run innings in 80 balls against England in the final helped India win their record-extending sixth U-19 World Cup title in Harare.
He is now focused on the IPL.
"The goal for this IPL season is to win the trophy for the team, as it is a very important achievement. I want to perform well, and my performance will help the entire team. That's my goal – to contribute to RR's wins and win the trophy for the franchise," Sooryavanshi told Star Sports on the sidelines of the BCCI Naman Awards here on Sunday.
Known for his explosive batting, Sooryavanshi met his World Cup-winning teammates at the awards function.
"(It) feels really nice. I also won a trophy for India at the World Cup. It's nice to meet my teammates and coaches again here because of this award ceremony," the young sensation said.
Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to sign an IPL contract when Rajasthan Royals signed him at 13 in 2024 for Rs 1.1 crore.
The youngster from Bihar recalled his early days with the RR scouts.
"When I made my domestic debut, RR had been keeping an eye on me during my domestic and Under-19 games. Their scouting team had been watching me for a long time. I felt that I could join RR because my trial with them went very well," he said.
"I am happy to be with RR, as I have also improved a lot in my life while playing for them."
Sooryavanshi said he has learned a lot from the legendary Rahul Dravid and other seniors in the team.
"For any young player, the first IPL camp is always interesting, and it was the same for me.
"Rahul (Dravid) sir was there at that time, so I got to learn a lot from him. There were a lot of senior players in the team, and I had a good learning experience from them during the first camp as well as the first IPL," he said.