Dravid proved right again as Suryavanshi arrives in style

Kolkata: It was certainly the first time in more than a month that one has seen Rahul Dravid on his feet, literally.
Subjected to a wheelchair in the field during the Rajasthan Royals practice sessions and on crutches for movement in other times, the feat achieved by his young protege made the head coach leap in joy in the dugout on Monday night forgetting the pain in his injured left leg.
After all, Dravid has been proved right, once again.
Long before Vaibhav Suryavanshi's IPL debut, Dravid was asked about the Royals' plan with the boy.
"He looks to be a very good and exciting talent. Like you rightly said, it's part of our responsibility to groom him a little bit. Give him a little bit of time in the environment. Let him get used to it. Let him practice with the players. Let him get to know the players. Let him feel the environment," Dravid had told TOI ahead of Royals' match against Chennai Super Kings in Guwahati.
"All these are great experiences for him. Rather than sort of putting him straight in, he gets the opportunity to sit on the bench, to observe, to watch, to run in for drinks, and to talk to the senior players. It's part of the process that we follow for grooming a youngster. If the opportunity arises, to be very honest with you, we won't be scared to play him."
Actually, it's the opposition bowlers who will now be scared to face the Bihar boy, who has been honing his skills under VVS Laxman at National Cricket Academy (NCA), Bengaluru, over the last 1-2 years and now under Dravid at Rajasthan Royals.
While it's early to say Suryavanshi has come of age, he has surely arrived, quite mature than any boy of his age and his father —Sanjeev — couldn't hide his emotions after seeing his son taking the international bowlers to the cleaners.
"We are very happy with his achievement. Along with us, our entire area, state, district, and the whole of Bihar and the country are celebrating his brilliant batting," Suryavanshi senior said in a video statement shared by Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) on Tuesday.
"We would like to sincerely thank the entire management and players of Rajasthan Royals for Vaibhav's contribution and achievement. For the past 3-4 months, Rajasthan Royals have been providing excellent practice to Vaibhav. His head coach Rahul Dravid sir, batting coach Vikram Rathour sir, Zubin Bharucha sir, Sairaj Bahutule sir, and Romi (Bhinder, RR team manager) sir have all been improving and enhancing his game. Vaibhav has also been working very hard. The result is his outstanding performance," Sanjeev added in the statement.
Sanjeev also highlighted BCA president Rakesh Kumar Tiwary's role in spotting Vaibhav's talent early and said, "This wouldn't have been possible without his vision and support. Through his game, Vaibhav has shown the world the hidden talent in Bihar's soil."
His rise is nothing but meteoric, one only hopes that Suryavanshi will stay like a sun to the cricketing world.