Goal is to win IPL trophy for Rajasthan Royals, says Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
New Delhi (PTI): An U-19 World Cup winner at 14, batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi now has his eyes set on winning the Indian Premier League title for Rajasthan Royals in the upcoming season.
Sooyavanshi took the IPL 2025 by storm by becoming the tournament's youngest centurion, and earlier this year, his 80-ball 175-run knock in the final against England propelled India to a record-extending sixth U-19 World Cup title in Harare.
He is now focussed on the IPL.
"The goal this IPL season is to win the trophy for the team, as it is a very important thing. I want to do well, and my performance will help the whole team. This is my goal -- to contribute to RR's wins and win the trophy for the franchise," Sooryavanshi told broadcaster Star Sports on the sidelines of the BCCI Naman Awards here on Sunday.
Known for his explosive batting, Sooryavanshi met his World Cup-winning teammates at the awards function.
"(It) feels really nice. Won a trophy as well for India at the World Cup. Because of this award ceremony, feeling nice to meet my teammates and coaches again here," the teen sensation said.
Sooryavanshi became the youngest player to sign an IPL contract when Rajasthan Royals picked up the then 13-year-old in 2024 for Rs 1.1 crore.
The youngster from Bihar recalled his early days with the RR scouts.
"When I made my domestic debut, RR had been keeping an eye on me during my domestic and Under-19 games. Their scouting team had been keeping an eye on me for a long time. I felt that I could go to RR because my trial with them had gone very well," he said.
"I am happy to be with RR, as I have improved a lot too in my life while playing for them."
Sooryavanshi said he has learned a lot from the legendary Rahul Dravid and other seniors in the team.
"For any youngster, the first IPL camp is always interesting and it was the same for me too.
"Rahul (Dravid) sir was there at that time, so I got to learn a lot from him. There were a lot of senior players in the team, and I had a good learning experience from them during the first camp as well as the first IPL," he said.
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Three company directors held in Rs 100-crore investment fraud in Kochi
Kochi (Kerala) (PTI): Police on Sunday arrested three directors of a firm accused of cheating hundreds of investors of over Rs 100 crore through a fake investment scheme linked to agricultural tourism here, officials said.
The accused were identified as Muraleedharan, Ashik Murali and Akhil Murali, all natives of Thrissur.
The arrests were made by the Kalamassery police in connection with a fraud involving ATCOS (Agri Tourism Cooperative Society), a firm headquartered at Pathadipalam here.
Police said the company had promised high returns by collecting investments from the public in the agricultural tourism sector, but allegedly cheated hundreds of people and fled with the money.
ATCOS was registered under the Multi-State Cooperative Societies Act and operated 13 branches across various districts in Kerala, besides a branch in Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu, officials said.
When investors failed to receive their promised returns or the invested amount, complaints were filed with the police.
Officials said around 54 cases have been registered against the firm in 32 police stations across the state, including 29 cases at the Kalamassery police station alone.
Following instructions from Kochi City Police Commissioner K S Mahesh Kumar, a special investigation team was formed under the supervision of Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order) Shehensha and Thrikkakara ACP Manoj Kumar.
The team traced the accused to an apartment in Amala Nagar in Thrissur, where they had been hiding after secretly renting the flat, officials said.
The bank accounts of the accused have been frozen, and steps have been initiated to trace their assets, officials said.
Police also conducted a raid at the company’s office at Pathadipalam and seized several documents related to the case.
The accused were produced before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court in Kalamassery, which remanded them to judicial custody and sent them to Kakkanad jail.
Police said they would seek the custody of the accused for further interrogation as the investigation continues.
