Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi started India’s Under-19 Asia Cup campaign with a bruising 171 from only 95 deliveries against the UAE in Dubai on Friday, leaving him a mere six runs shy of Ambati Rayudu’s long-standing national youth-ODI record (177, Taunton 2002). India piled up 433 for 6 after being asked to bat and, in truth, the contest drifted out of the hosts’ reach inside the first hour.
‘Honestly, I wasn’t chasing numbers,’ Suryavanshi told the host broadcaster. ‘I just kept my head still, watched the ball and swung hard when it was there.’ The youngster’s assault contained nine fours and 14 sixes, most of them straight down the ground. He was finally bowled trying a paddle sweep in the 33rd over; even that dismissal drew a rueful smile rather than any obvious frustration.
Head coach Hemang Badani, only half-joking, added: ‘He doesn’t know half the bowlers he’s hitting. That’s probably a good thing for us.’ Badani pointed to the teen’s ‘uncanny ability to pick length early’—a skill that separates him from many of his peers.
Form guide
The innings continues a remarkable few months. In November, Suryavanshi belted a 42-ball 144 against the UAE at the Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha; his hundred came in 32 balls, joint-sixth fastest in men’s T20 cricket. A fortnight later he cracked an unbeaten 108 (61 balls) in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, becoming the youngest century-maker in that competition.
IPL watchers already know the name. Back in April he became the youngest IPL centurion—101 from 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals—after entering the auction at 13. Seven matches, 252 runs, strike-rate 206.55: raw, yes, but impossible to ignore.
‘I’ve been around junior cricket a long time,’ former India Under-19 coach WV Raman said on commentary, ‘and very few lads hit the ball as cleanly, as early, as this fellow.’
International tours have been productive as well. On India Under-19’s winter trip to Australia he made a 78-ball hundred in the first four-day game in Brisbane and finished second on the series run list. Earlier in England he scored 355 one-day runs at a strike-rate touching 174, an eye-catching number even when you know strike-rate merely measures runs per 100 balls.
What comes next?
With the Under-19 World Cup split between Namibia and Zimbabwe next month, Suryavanshi is already pencilled in at the top of the order. The bigger question is how Indian selectors manage his workload and expectations. Former national selector Devang Gandhi sounded a note of caution on social media: ‘Talent is obvious, but the real test is handling the grind. Best we let him grow at his own pace.’
For now he seems happy enough. Asked about Rayudu’s record, Suryavanshi shrugged: ‘It’s still his for now. Maybe I’ll have another go in the next match.’ In this mood, few would bet against it.
