Vaibhav Suryavanshi is a superstar in the making. He already is, if you ask those following the India U19 team’s exploits in England.
Indian cricket unearthing exceptional batting talents is pretty much routine stuff in world cricket. There are countless examples of young Indian batters wowing the world even before their international debut. After the advent of IPL, the number has only risen at a fast pace. But despite this predictability in India’s batting class, there comes a player every once in a while who exceeds all expectations. Vaibhav Suryavanshi is rapidly rising to that category.
The 14-year-old teen from Bihar made jaws drop in the IPL by smashing the fastest century in the league by an Indian off 35 balls. His recent exploits – including a breathtaking 78-ball 143 against England U-19 in a white-ball game at Worcester – have catapulted him into the spotlight far beyond Indian borders. Suryavanshi’s batting has left English cricket fans drooling. So much so that comparisons with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli started doing the rounds.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is part of the large contingent of Indian cricketers who are currently in England. The senior men’s team, led by Shubman Gill, is fighting with England for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, the Harmanpreet Kaur-led India senior women’s team is in the middle of an ODI series against England after beating them in T20Is and the U19 team is playing a multi-format series against England U19s. Before the start of the Test series, the India A team was also touring England for red-ball games.
It is none but Suryavanshi’s credit that he has managed to hog the limelight despite the presence of such big names in England by smashing 355 runs in four ODIs at a staggering strike rate of 174, which included 27 sixes.
Daniel Peacock, a cricket analyst and statistician for the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), who has been covering the U19 series, shared how the English cricket fans are rating Vaibhav Suryavanshi equal to or above Tendulkar and Kohli.
“The people I’ve spoken to in the game – I think we all have the same feeling. We’ve watched and witnessed a young star in the making, something very special. I would go as far as to say he’s probably the best 14-year-old in any sport that I’ve seen live. I think the sentiment in England is that we are watching a very special young boy playing cricket – and the expectancy is Tendulkar-Kohli-level, or even beyond,” Peacock told timesofindia.com.
England fans crazy about Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Peacock narrated how British-Indians have thronged the grounds to catch a glimpse of Suryavanshi’s batting.
“People are starting to make noise about him here. Cricket fans already know who he is – even if they can’t all pronounce his name. These games usually attract a few die-hards, but there’s certainly been a little extra media attention (we’ve had the likes of BBC, The Athletic, Getty, etc.), and a lot of British-Indians have come to watch Vaibhav play in the flesh for the first time,” he said.
From children eagerly clutching autograph books to families making long journeys just for a glimpse, the left-handed opener is attracting attention rarely seen at the junior level.
“He is my role model. I like his aggressive style of batting,” said a young fan from Beckenham, beaming after securing Suryavanshi’s autograph on the final day of the Youth Test at Kent County Cricket Ground.
Despite efforts by team management to shield him from the media glare, the buzz around Suryavanshi is only growing louder. For many in the Indian diaspora across the UK, watching him in action feels like witnessing the birth of the next big cricketing superstar.
Sanjeev, a London-based government employee of Indian origin, travelled over two hours with his wife just to watch the teenage prodigy play. “I came only for Suryavanshi. I hope I can get a picture with him,” he said. But with play extending late into the evening, the selfie had to wait.
Even his opponents are starting to take notice. England U-19 spinner Ralphie Albert, who bowled to Suryavanshi in both the ODI and Youth Test matches, was taken aback by the teenager’s fearless approach. “I bowled to him throughout the ODI series. And then coming off the Test series, you’d think maybe he’d pull back a bit, but he’s kept going. But yeah, he’s a really good player,” Albert said.