Guwahati (Assam) [India], March 30 (ANI): India's young batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi opened up about his childhood heroes ahead of Rajasthan Royals' (RR) first match of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season. He hailed cricket legends Brian Lara and Yuvraj Singh as cricketers he liked growing up.

RR will start their IPL 2026 campaign against the five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on March 30. A crucial part in RR's title bid will be played by the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 winner Suryavanshi, who has registered several records to his name across all formats of the game ever since he became the youngest player with an IPL deal at 13 years of age, ahead of the 2025 season.

Speaking on JioStar, Vaibhav Suryavanshi spoke about his childhood heroes. He said he admired former West Indies cricketer Brian Lara and the former Indian all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for their ability to single-handedly finish matches, which made a strong impression on him growing up. 'I saw both, Brian Lara and Yuvraj Singh, finish matches single-handedly. If they were in, there was no chance for the opponent to come back into the game, and that was something I really liked about them,' Suryavanshi said. Vaibhav Suryavanshi said his focus after being picked by Rajasthan Royals is to give the team strong starts, play aggressively in the powerplay, and convert those into runs long innings. He emphasised that his main goal this season is to help the team win the title, believing individual performances will naturally stand out if the team succeeds. 'When I was picked, my only goal was to give the team a good start. I wanted to play my game in the Powerplay, and if I got a good start, I wanted to continue and play long without giving my wicket away. I knew that if I played my shots, the scenario of the game would change, because chasing 200-plus runs would not be easy for any team. This season, the goal is to win the trophy for the team. My performances and the team's performances will automatically get highlighted if we win the trophy, and that is the most important thing,' he said.

During the IPL mega auction ahead of the 2025 season, Suryavanshi secured a deal worth Rs 1.1 crore with Rajasthan Royals, making him the youngest IPL player ever. In the IPL clash against the Gujarat Titans that season, at the age of 14, Suryavanshi became the youngest T20 centurion and the first Indian to hit the fastest IPL fifty. Starting his IPL journey with a first-ball six, he became one of the young, emerging stars of the season, with 252 runs in seven innings at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 206.55, with a century and fifty. (ANI)