When Shubman Gill achieved his historic double century in the second Test match against England, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was overjoyed. He was watching his "role model" in action from the Edgbaston stands. As a 14-year-old enjoying the chance to witness a Test match in England, he seemed to be acting his age for once. Vaibhav rarely acts like an awed teenager on most days when he is on or around a cricket pitch. Signs are that he is one in the making.
However, Vaibhav's batting is not similar to that of Gill, his idol. It is more like Rishabh Pant, the vice-captain, destructive, left-handed, and unconcerned about the bowler's reputation. He dispatched elite bowlers like Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, and Prasidh Krishna like they were a group of amateurs attempting fast bowling during his 35-ball IPL century, which was the fastest by an Indian and the youngest overall.
He treated Marco Jansen, Arshdeep Singh, Noor Ahmed, Ravindra Jadeja the same way. He went on to score 252 runs at a strike rate of 206.56 in 7 matches during his maiden IPL season, hitting 24 sixes. Three and a half sixes every innings, that is. And that was all after he had only turned fourteen.
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But IPL was not Vaibhav Suryavanshi's sole claim to fame. Well, the IPL was undoubtedly his claim to international stardom. However, he had already established himself in the cricket world by scoring a century off of 58 balls for India U19 against Australia in a four-day match. In many respects, that helped him land a contract with the Rajasthan Royals for the IPL.
Quick-handed. Outstanding hand-eye coordination. Vaibhav is unique because of his strong foundation and bold approach. He made hints about burying the overseas ghost quite early in his career.
Vaibhav hit 17 sixes in the three Youth ODIs he played against England U19 during his first trip to the country with the India U19 team. Two more matches remain. Aside from the stratospheric strike-rate and the soaring sixes, the Bihar teenager would seek a high score.
In the third match, he was out for 86. He had previously been dismissed twice in his 40s. Getting major scores are only a minor obstacle. According to former Indian cricketer Shikhar Dhawan, Vaibhav Suryavanshi faces greater obstacles in the future.
"How old is he, 13-14? (To play IPL) at the age of 14, is a very big thing. The way he was hitting the bowlers and standing in front of the big boys of world cricket at such a young age is remarkable. When I look at his confidence while hitting the big shots... it's amazing. Thanks to IPL, our kids can now dream of getting into a big team from the age of 5. Vaibhav manifested that dream. He is there. A big congratulations to him and his family. A very proud moment for all of us in cricket. A 14-year-old kid playing a big league like that and dominating is unthinkable," Dhawan told Hindustan Times.
Dhawan, who was once an explosive opening batsman himself, warned Suryavanshi about money, fame, and attention.
"For him, the challenge is going to be how he is gonna handle the fame, the attention, and the money as well. A blessing that happened to him is that he was in great hands... Rahul Bhai, Vikram Paji (coaches of Rajasthan Royals). They are very very good cricketers. They don't just believe in making good cricketers but good human beings as well. It's very important to be a good human being."
One of India's greatest white-ball openers of all time, Dhawan, stated that Suryavanshi will have a completely new challenge in the next edition of IPL. In addition to the pressure of expectations, teams will come with pre-determined plans.
"I feel that the second year is gonna be a bit tough for him. Bowlers will know what his strength is. They are gonna plan better against him. He has to face those challenges and grow. How he takes care of his mental health will be very important going forward because expectations will rise. The self-expectation will rise as well. How he is gonna handle all that stuff is what I am looking forward to seeing," Dhawan added.
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