London: During an event of the European T20 Premier League (ETPL) here, former India captain and former head coach Rahul Dravid said in an interview, “Test cricket particularly needs players like Vaibhav Suryavanshi.”
Dravid, who coached Vaibhav Suryavanshi at Rajasthan Royals during the 2025 IPL, is a co-owner of the ETPL’s Dublin Guardians team. He believes that “Vaibhav’s development as a cricketer needs to be well balanced. He should be given opportunities in red-ball cricket in a way that his focus is not reduced by white-ball cricket. He is already gaining experience of playing against the white ball in the IPL, but he should also play plenty of domestic cricket with the red ball.”
Dravid told a leading cricket website, “We all want not only to preserve the existence of Test cricket but also to see this format grow, and that is why the format particularly needs players like Vaibhav. It is also important that he eventually represents India in all formats.”
Dravid further said about Vaibhav, “Vaibhav is still only 15 years old. Rather than sending him to play T20 tournaments and bilateral series around the world, he should be allowed to play more domestic red-ball matches at home so that he gains greater experience of playing with the red ball, which can also help him in Test cricket. It would be wonderful to see him eventually representing India in red-ball cricket just as he does in white-ball cricket.”
It may be recalled that during the 2025 IPL, when Dravid was injured, he came onto the ground in a wheelchair for a coaching session and coached Rajasthan Royals players, including Vaibhav Suryavanshi.