IPL: Vaibhav-Dhoni meeting remains enduring image from the season

The sight of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the teenager who took the IPL 2025 by storm, touching the iconic Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s feet to pay his respects on Tuesday after their game has to be one of the most enduring images of this season. It framed the youngest-and-oldest theme of the league, and as with every move Vaibhav made over the past month, went viral on social media.

‘’You won our hearts, Vaibhav,’’ Chennai Super Kings posted on their official X handle even as the 14-year-old’s mature half-century put Rajasthan Royals on course for an emphatic six-wicket win at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It was a joust between two bottom-of-the-table sides alright, but Vaibhav ended his maiden season with an impressive 252 runs from seven games (strike rate of 206.56) which included a blazing 35-ball century against table toppers Gujarat Titans.

You won our hearts, Vaibhav! 💛✨#CSKvRR #WhistlePodu 🦁💛

pic.twitter.com/9q20qfKtAn

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) May 20, 2025

Royals’ regular skipper Sanju Samson — who returned to action after sitting out a better part of the season with a finger injury — sacrificed his position at the top of the order to let Vaibhav continue to open the innings with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Rs 1.1 crore surprise package, who tasted failure in a number of matches after his century in trying to fire from the word go, took a more sensible approach on a spicy wicket and was involved in a 98-run stand for the second wicket with his skipper on his way to a stroke-filled 57.  

Expectations will, of course, rise from the boy from remote Samastipur village in Bihar here onward, but then Vaibhav seems to have learned the art of cutting out the noise. The Royals management, on their part, have developed an invisible wall around him as he is shielded from press conferences while Shane Bond, their bowling coach, revealed during their visit to Kolkata that he was also being trained on keeping social media at bay.

Responding to a query from head coach Rahul Dravid as to how many people called him after his maiden IPL ton, Vaibhav replied with a straight face: “There were more than 500 missed calls, but I’ve switched off the phone.”  

The Royals opener was also candid enough to admit: ‘’A lot of people approached me after the century, but I don’t like that a lot. I kept my phone switched off for a few days. I don’t like having too many people around. Just my family and a few friends, that’s enough.’'