What did Gavaskar tell Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during viral feet-touching moment?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi touched Sunil Gavaskar's feet before the Rajasthan Royals' Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and the Indian legend has now revealed what he actually told the young prodigy.
Sunil Gavaskar revealed what he told Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during their viral feet-touching moment ahead of the IPL 2026 Eliminator clash between Rajasthan Royals and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Sooryavanshi stole the show with his incredible 29-ball 97 against SRH to power his side to Qualifier 2.
Apart from his batting, there was a moment when the teenage sensation walked up to Gavaskar and touched his feet before the game got underway. Sooryavanshi created a memorable moment before the match with a gesture that blended humility and respect. During the warm-ups, the young RR opener made his way to the broadcast set and sought blessings from batting great Sunil Gavaskar and former India batting coach Sanjay Bangar by touching their feet while they were on air.
The unexpected act left everyone at the presentation area pleasantly surprised and quickly became one of the standout off-field moments of the evening.
Gavaskar was reminded of this moment during his interview with Rajdeep Sardesai, India Today's Consulting Editor, and was given a hypothetical situation where he would have been Sooryavanshi's partner for RR.
Gavaskar was asked what he would tell the boy wonder and the Indian legend said that he would tell him to keep carrying on, something he told the youngster during their brief interaction.
"What I would say to him is exactly what I said to him yesterday when he came just before the match, and we were doing a show on the ground. When he came and he touched my feet and I and all I said to him was, 'lag raho bete, lag raho,' and that is exactly what I would say if I was batting with him down the other end," said Gavaskar.
IS SOORYAVANSHI THE NEXT BIG THING IN INDIAN CRICKET?
Sooryavanshi has already enjoyed a sensational campaign in IPL 2026, scoring 680 runs and breaking Chris Gayle's record for the most sixes by a batter in a single campaign.
So is he the next big thing in Indian cricket? Gavaskar feels that is the case from what he has seen so far with his exploits for RR over the course of the last two seasons.
"He certainly promises to be that from what we've seen, because, for somebody to be playing the kind of shots that he is playing, or the comfort level that he's playing it means that he's somebody really, really special," said Gavaskar.
Sooryavanshi will be back in action when RR face GT in Qualifier 2 on Friday, May 29.
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