No stranger to pulling off outrageous feats already on a cricket field, 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi smashed an extraordinary 32-ball century for India A in Doha againt UAE at the Asia Cup Rising Stars on Friday. With Chris Gayle’s record of 175 well in his sights, Vaibhav eventually fell for a 42-ball 144 in just the 13th over of the match T20 match. His knock included a stunning total of 15 sixes and 11 fours, a total of 26 deliveries off the 42 he faced going to or beyond the boundary, sometimes travelling well beyond the fence.
In fact, the total of 134 of 144 runs (93.05%) in boundaries has only been bettered by three men for runs in 4s and 6s in a T20 match. In the process, the 14-year-old also became the only man to score two T20 centuries in 35 balls or fewer – he had already scored a 35-ball century for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL against Gujarat Titans.
In fact, in an over where Vaibhav hit four sixes either side of a wide, he hit the penultimate ball for a four and threw his head back in frustration at not connecting it well enough for another six. Jitesh Sharma-led India A finished eventully on 297/5 in 20 overs, with the captain remaining unbeaten on a 32-ball 83.
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Priyank Panchal, now retired Indian first-class stalwart, posted on X that he could see Vaibhav getting fastracked to the Indian senior side soon. “This is simply insane. I’ve a feel Vaibhav will be fast-tracked into the senior team within two years. Whether that’s a right call or not, only time will tell. I’ll hold back such temptations for a while. But such performances are simply too exemplary to be ignored!”
It’s been a stunning year for Vaibhav as the teenager from Bihar made his Indian Premier League debut, hit the second-fastest century in the league, became the youngest centurion, impressed in Australia, England away tours, was fast-tracked to the India A side. He had made history when he scored the fastest ever Youth ODI century, off just 52 balls, for India U19 against England U19 in Worcester. Vaibhav had also recently broken the all-time record for the most career sixes in Youth ODI cricket during the second India U-19 vs Australia U-19 50-over match at the Ian Healy Oval in Brisbane in September, surpassing compatriot Unmukt Chand’s previous record by hitting his 39th Youth ODI six.
What makes Vaibhav Suryavanshi special?
“To someone like that, you are actually, the thing you’re trying to tell him is to just explore the edges of your talent. It is incredible. But I think the gift of mindset, that freedom…first ball in the IPL, to be able to hit Shardul Thakur for a six. I mean, Shardul Thakur is an international bowler, a terrific bowler,” former India and RR coach Rahul Dravid recently said on the ‘Breakfast with Champions’ show hosted by Gaurav Kapur.
“It’s not the skill. Skill he has. But it’s the mindset. You can’t really teach that mindset. You can’t coach someone with that mindset. You just got to manage it, own it. You certainly can’t curb it. As a coach, it’s not so much about instructing him but giving him the platform and the freedom to express himself,” Dravid, who oversaw Vaibhav’s stunning first season in the IPL.
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India A’s squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (VC), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (C) (WK), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Abhisek Porel (WK), Suyash Sharma.
Stand-by Players: Gurnoor Singh Brar, Kumar Kushagra, Tanush Kotian, Sameer Rizvi, Shaik Rasheed.
India A’s schedule (Group B league phase):
14th November: vs UAE
16th November: vs Pakistan A
18th November: vs Oman
