
At an age when most children are confused between pursuing studies with earnestness and following other more recreational vocations, this 13-year-old had been chasing his dream, with a willow in his hand and wild ambition in his heart. Barely in his teens, the youngster has shown glimpses of prodigious talent. Scoring runs has been his vocation, hitting fours and sixes his passion.
As fate would have it, Vaibhav Suryanvanshi has just landed Rs 1.1 crore during the Indian Premier League mega auction this week. If anyone thought earning a crore at 13 is not possible, he has shown there are such astounding aberrations. Life for him has changed. The boyish innocence and adolescent maturity will be tested more intensely than ever before.
Days after creating history at the IPL mega auction, all eyes were on Vaibhav when India took on arch-rivals Pakistan in the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Saturday. The left-hand batter, who wants to model himself around the great Brian Lara, might have got out for one in his debut match, which his team eventually lost by 43 runs. Yet, in the process he has created another record. The batter who bowls slow left arm orthodox became the youngest Indian cricketer to play for India U19 team. At 13 years and 248 days, he broke the record of leggie Piyush Chawla, who made his India U19 debut at 14 years and 311 days.
During an interview with official broadcasters Sony Sports during the U19 Asia Cup event, Vaibhav said he is right now focused on his game and would take one match at a time. He also revealed that Lara, another left-handed batter, is his role model. “I like to play like him. The rest, I try to keep it natural with whatever skills I have and I want to work on that.”
Signed by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.10 crore on November 26, making him the youngest player to earn an IPL deal, every move Vaibhav makes on and off the field will be followed more minutely. Saturday was no different.
Born in Bihar’s Tajpur town of Samastipur district, Vaibhav’s cricketing journey started at the age of four. Noticing his son’s passion for the game, father Sanjeev Suryavanshi, a farmer, cleared a small area for him in the backyard of his home. It is also reported that the father even sold a piece of land to fund his son’s dreams.
A couple of years later, he joined Cricket Academy Samastipur. It marked his association with coach Brijesh Jha, who saw the potential only a year later and started working on Vaibhav to prepare him for future grinds. “His home is around 12-13 kilometres from our academy. In his early days, he used to come at 3 pm after attending school. Only a year later, we decided to pay extra attention to him as we found he has abilities to make it to the top,” Jha said after the historic signing by the Rajasthan franchise.
Vaibhav then started accompanying the senior team for practice and club matches.
“For almost a year, we gave him a feel of what happens on a match day. Once he developed that confidence of playing against senior boys, we included him in the playing XI. He might not have scored quickly then but spending time at the crease and facing 50 or more deliveries at such a pace from boys elder to him definitely boosted his confidence,” the coach said. Till 2018-19, Vaibhav played in his age group and then was graduated to the senior level.
Since then, Vaibhav has not looked back. Last year, he was picked in India B U19 team for a quadrangular series also involving India A, Bangladesh and England. The series held in Andhra Pradesh was essentially a trial to pick the national team for the 2024 ICC U19 World Cup. Given his modest outings, Vaibhav was not picked in the squad.
The teen has a knack of making a comeback. He did so when he found a place in Bihar’s Ranji Trophy squad. Vaibhav soon made his Ranji debut against domestic heavyweights Mumbai in January 2024 and has played five first-class matches and a T20 match in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The teenager scripted yet another slice of history in September this year when he made his India U19 debut in a youth Test match against Australia in Chennai.
He might not have performed always, but the youngster always turn the table. With age by his side and fire in the belly backed by talent, the world seems to be at his feet. At least at the moment.