Riyan Parag's brotherly advice to Vaibhav Suryavanshi before IPL 2026; ‘my message to him would be to not do a lot of…’

Vaibhav Suryavanshi had been a revelation in Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. Having stunned everyone with his first-ball six off Shardul Thakur on debut, the 14-year-old went on to grab global attention with his heroics with the bat at the international level, especially in the final of the U-19 World Cup with a blistering 175 against England.

In India, success comes up with huge media exposure. While Suryavanshi is slowly getting used to nitty-gritties of how to handle the media, new Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag came up with a brotherly advice to the newest sensation in Indian cricket ahead of grueling two months of IPL 2026, which starts on March 28 in Bengaluru.

After a successful debut season, pressure will be on Suryavanshi to deliver every time he walks out to bat. Aware of the pressure on and off the field, Parag came up with a brotherly advice for the batting prodigy and wanted Suryavanshi to enjoy his batting with being burdened.

“As a captain my message to him would be to not do a lot of press conferences or follow a lot of social media. He’s playing really well and he’s going to make the country proud. He should continue to play his natural game,” Parag told media at a Rajasthan Royals event, in the presence of head coach Kumar Sangakkara.

Unlike other teams, Rajasthan Royals underwent heavy changes at the top. While captain Sanju Samson went to Chennai Super Kings as a part of the trade deal, head coach Rahul Dravid also stepped down from his position. Parag has been elevated to take up the leadership role. Sangakkara, who was serving as the Director of Cricket, returned to take up the head coach's role.