Vaibhav Suryavanshi continues to take the world by storm. First, it was the IPL, then England, and most recently, Australia. The 14-year-old’s exploits are spreading like wildfire.
Suryavanshi first became the talk of the town when he was snapped up by the Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.1 crore when he was all of 13. And boy, did he repay that trust? Against the Gujarat Titans, Suryavanshi, at 14, became the youngest ever to smash a century in the IPL, and continued his impressive run, scoring 143 off 78 balls against the England Under-19 team. Australia wasn’t spared either, as he recently bludgeoned 104 off just 62 deliveries against Australia U-19 in the first Youth Test in Chennai.
However, no fireworks come close to the one he displayed on the night of April 28 in Jaipur when he lit up the Sawai Mansingh Stadium with a 35-ball 100. Suryavanshi showed no mercy to some of the most experienced bowlers to have played for India. Suryavanshi blasted 101, including seven fours and 11 sixes, helping the Royals chase down 210 inside 16 overs. Such explosions from a 14-year-old were unheard of, let alone seen before, with Ravi Shastri recalling how Aussie great Matthew Hayden refused to believe Suryavanshi’s age.
“I was amazed; I was on air in that game in Jaipur. I went on air in the 4th over, and I did two stints in a row because we were one commentator short by that time. By the 9th, 10th over, he had gotten to his 100, and he had smacked it. He was hitting Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma 10 rows back over extra cover and midwicket. Haydos was there, and he said, ‘Oh he can’t be 14’, and I said, ‘Come on, calm down’,” Shastri said on the Willow Talk show on the LiSTNR Sport podcast.
Suryavanshi’s big challenge is upon him
There’s no doubting Suryavanshi’s talent, but a bitter truth in Indian cricket is that several talented cricketers have fallen behind, only to get buried along the way. And while there are clamours of Suryavanshi getting propelled to First-Class cricket grows, Shastri mentioned something very important for the teenager.
“That now for him is the toughest period. Because he’s made such an impression and such a young age, much like Sachin. Now, in the next 2-3 years, he needs someone to guide him because you can go off the rails very quickly. It can go into your head; expectations are high, you may not be able to handle it. This is where someone has to go and tell him, ‘You are bound to fail at some stage’. This game is a leveller. So don’t be upset. It’s a part and parcel of life, but you stick to what you’re doing, and once you start embracing failure, take it in your stride, that is when you’ll do well. But this is an important period for him,” added the former India coach.
Can Survanshi become the next Sachin Tendulkar or Virat Kohli?
Suryavanshi’s rise has quickly compared him to legends such as Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli. However, there’s a reason why Indian cricket has witnessed just one Tendulkar and Kohli. Shastri insisted that while only the history books can truly answer that question, Suryavanshi still has a long way to go before he can even be mentioned in the same breath as Tendulkar or Kohli.
“There’s no question but you have to see how good those guys were at that age. So, if this guy is that good, there’s no reason why he can’t be asked to play the 4-day game. Let him work out his own way of striking the balance because what it will certainly do is it will help him keep the good ball out. He’ll have to defend a lot more, tighten his technique, which will then help him. Then he’ll figure out which bowler to see off, which one to target. It’s about keeping the good ones out and respecting the conditions at time,” he pointed out.