'Can't expect 14-year-old to be professional': Shane Bond reacts to Vaibhav Suryavanshi's failure vs MI, drops advice

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, is the toast of the town after his whirlwind 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans. The Rajasthan Royals opening batter smashed 8 fours and 11 sixes in his 38-ball 101-run knock. However, the youngster learned that cricket is a great leveller against Mumbai Indians as he walked back to the hut after registering a duck. Ahead of the fixture against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in IPL 2025, RR pace bowling coach Shane Bond advised the southpaw to learn from his mistakes and keep moving forward. Vaibhav Suryavanshi advised to learn from his mistakes. (Surjeet )

Shane Bond also said that the team management has given the left-handed batter full freedom to express himself in the middle. In the four matches Vaibhav has played so far, Suryavanshi has registered scores of 34, 16, 101, and 0.

With a century against Gujarat Titans, Vaibhav became the youngest-ever player to register a three-figure mark in the IPL. He also smashed the second-fastest hundred in the IPL, only behind Chris Gayle.

"He's sort of got a bit of a licence to go out and just play, which he's done an amazing job so far, really, for a 14-year-old. I think the coaching staff haven't tried to complicate things too much with Vaibhav," Bond told reporters at a pre-match press conference in Kolkata on Saturday.

"He missed out in the last game, but for us, you don't really want to panic with someone so young. I know Vikram Rathour talks about his game plans and the type of bowlers that he's going to come up against, and he'll do that again for this match. But outside of that, he's a pretty young kid, so I'm just happy for him to get out there and keep swinging," he added.

‘Can’t expect 14-year-old to be a professional'

The Rajasthan Royals coach also asked the fans to stay patient with the youngster as it is not realistic to expect a 14-year-old to be a thorough professional. He stated that Vaibhav will learn from experience going ahead in the tournament.

"He's had a fantastic start, but he's also going to go through the ups and downs. You know, he's going to fail sometimes, and he's going to have to learn to deal with that, with someone so young. He's obviously a seriously talented player, but he's also still a kid, you know. So, he's sort of learning on the go. We're going to be really patient with him because you have to be," said Bond.

"And the other part of it is just all the off-field stuff, the travel, you can't expect a 14-year-old to be a professional," he added further.

Shane Bond also likened Vaibhav to his own kids, stressing the need to protect the teenage sensation from outside noise.

"Like I've got a 16-year-old son and he's a teenager, so we're just trying to educate him on the things around and look after him, shield him a little bit from the social media stuff and all the trappings that come with the way he started. But he's a lovely kid, I really like him, he's quiet," said Bond.

"And I love his steely determination and confidence. I think the way he's played so far has been spectacular. So, I think the boys are delighted for his success, and I hope it continues," he added.

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