About A Boy: How Vaibhav Suryavanshi Became An Overnight Cricket Sensation

On a nondescript mofussil street in Bihar’s Samastipur district stands an unremarkable house—except for a cemented pitch, enclosed by nets, to its left. “Whose house is this?” a visibly excited girl, no more than eight years old, asks her two friends—a girl and a boy, both not younger than six. “Tell me, tell me!” she insists but, without waiting for a reply, blurts out the name herself: “Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the batting sensation!” Her face lights up, as if she has won a contest, and the three friends pause a while, taking in the sight, before walking on, a happy spring in their steps.

This house in Motipur town in Samastipur district belongs to the family of a young boy whose name echoes with pride not just in this neighbourhood, but across Bihar and the entire Indian cricketing world. At just 14, Vaibhav became the youngest player ever to score a century in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hitting a blistering 101 off 35 balls. He is now the fastest Indian and the second-fastest IPL player to reach a century. This breakthrough performance has earned Vaibhav a spot in India’s Under-19 squad for the upcoming bilateral series in England in June-July. He is currently training for this opportunity, one more step on a meteoric rise marked by years of hard work.

Vaibhav’s grandmother, 66-year-old Usha Singh, has seen Vaibhav growing up and playing cricket passionately. “He would just pick up a plastic bat and a red plastic ball and run off to Thakurbaari nearby,” she recalls Vaibhav as a five-year-old. “We would tell him to not play in the sun, but he would never listen. I always knew this child would go very far. When he started playing everywhere, I knew he would play for India one day.” The grandmother recalls that her 52-year-old son and Vaibhav’s father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, shared the same passion for the sport. “As we focused on his studies instead, Sanjeev never made it. But he was determined that his son would,” says Usha Singh.

On May 29, Vaibhav and his parents met Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Patna airport. The PM appreciated the young cricketer’s talent and lauded his achievements. Just days earlier, on May 21, Vaibhav had returned home to Motipur, for a few hours, after playing for IPL.

“Now that he has met the PM,” Usha Singh says, “what more could we ask for?” But the people of Motipur and the rest of Bihar have their hopes pinned on something greater, that Vaibhav will soon play for the international cricket team.

Since he was nine, Vaibhav has been practising on the cemented pitch just beside his home. “He used to bat from 6 am to 10 am, facing university-level bowlers who would come all the way from Samastipur town just to bowl to Vaibhav,” says his uncle, Rajeev Suryavanshi (50). “He is at his best against fast bowlers. His hook shots are unbelievable.”

In the innings that made headlines—101 off 35 balls against Gujarat Titans—Vaibhav hit 11 sixes, most of these hooks and bridges. “His first coach was actually bhaiya (Vaibhav’s father),” Rajeev says. “Even when he was a five or six-years-old, playing gully cricket, he stood out. Other kids would hit maybe one six. Vaibhav would hit all six balls for sixes. This is uniquely Vaibhav. Bhaiya discovered this talent and brought him for cricket coaching. Since bhaiya had played for the district, he started teaching him the technique.”

Indeed, the efforts of the family went into Vaibhav’s journey from making it to the IPL to his selection for the Under-19 Indian cricket team. His coach, the cricket board and his friends also played significant roles. From five to nine years of age, he was trained on the pitch at home, where his father made him work hard. Then Sanjeev took him to a local cricket camp in Samastipur, where coach Brajesh Jha started training him professionally. His father also took him to a cricket academy in Patna, where coach Manish Ojha recognised Vaibhav’s talent and began nurturing it. Thus began his journey as a promising cricketer, leading to his participation in state-level tournaments.

Vaibhav drew attention in tournaments like Randhir Tournament, Cooch Behar Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy, where he made headlines by scoring a phenomenal 322 runs off 169 balls. By the age of 13, Vaibhav was playing in Ranji Trophy for Bihar against Mumbai. Soon his game card reached the National Cricket Academy (NCA), now known as the BCCI Centre of Excellence, and he was selected for the NCA camp, leading eventually to his selection for the Under-19 Indian team.

In his debut Under-19 Test match against Australia, Vaibhav scored 108 off 58 balls. He followed it up in the 2024 Under-19 Asia Cup in the UAE with an exemplary 76 off 46 balls. Around the same time, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL auction for Rs 1.1 crore, making him the youngest player to be sold at that price.

The second of three brothers, Vaibhav is a left-handed batter whose idol is West Indies legend Brian Lara. Though Rajasthan Royals did not include him in the playing eleven at the start of the season, he made his debut mid-season against Lucknow Super Giants, hitting a six off the very first ball he faced from Shardul Thakur. He scored 34 runs in that match, with three sixes and two fours off 20 balls. On April 28, he delivered his sensational knock against Gujarat Titans, which thrust him into the national and international spotlight. Vaibhav played seven matches in IPL 2024, scoring 252 runs at a strike rate of 206.56. He hit more sixes than fours, with 24 sixes and 18 fours in just seven matches.

People from Motipur say whenever Rajasthan Royals played the entire village would tune in to watch. They always believed he would make history given a chance. But they did not expect it to come so late. Many believe that had Vaibhav been given more chances earlier in the season, Rajasthan Royals might have qualified for the playoffs.

Brajesh Jha, founder of the Samastipur Cricket Academy, says Vaibhav is focused on his batting and has even invented new shots while playing in the IPL. “People talk about his pull shot today, but I believe his cut and cover drives are exceptional,” says Jha. “His talent will soon make him a part of the international team. He scored 40 centuries in a year on Samastipur ground, which is quite a record.”

Rakesh Kumar Tiwari, president of the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), watched every Rajasthan Royals match to see Vaibhav play. “I hope Bihar is known in the field of sports because of Vaibhav,” says Tiwari. “I have seen him practise. Our selectors first spotted his talent, assessed it and then informed us. When I saw him play, we decided to support this talented boy. Watching him come this far fills us with immense pride and joy.”

Bihar has long been seen as a backward state with regard to cricket. After Jharkhand was carved out, Bihar lost much of its cricket infrastructure. Until 2017, as the BCA was not even officially recognised, many talented cricketers had to play for other states to make it to the Indian team. Tiwari believes this talent exodus will end now.

After his exemplary performances in the IPL, Vaibhav thanked his parents for their support and acknowledged their sacrifices, especially his mother’s. Every day, his 45-year-old mother, Aarti Singh, would wake up at 3 AM to cook breakfast and lunch for Vaibhav, his father and two others before they made their 105 km journey from Motipur to the cricket academy in Patna. And Sanjeev always stood by his son’s side like a shadow.

(Translation by Kaveri Mishra)

Md Asghar Khan is a Jharkhand-based independent journalist