On April 28, fans flocking to the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur were blissfully unaware of what they were to witness over the course of the evening. Home franchise Rajasthan Royals – then precariously placed in the race to the playoffs (now eliminated)– was facing an on-song Gujarat Titans, who had set a daunting target of 210.

Without the services of the injured Sanju Samson, anxiety was natural for the loyal Royals supporters. That gulf prompted the management to place its faith in a 14-year-old – Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

While any early scepticism was understandable, it would all vanish in the matter of an hour, with a teenager showing seasoned pros their place on one of the most competitive platforms in the sport. His 38-ball 101 was as audacious an inning as one could imagine. The stadium was drenched in glorious pink as Suryavanshi stirred even The Wall – RR coach Rahul Dravid – to jump out of his wheelchair and applaud his exceptional show. The youngster paved the way for an eight-wicket win for the home side with over four overs to spare.

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No fear

For most debutants, such a stage might have been overwhelming — but not for Suryavanshi. At just 12, he had already played red-ball Ranji Trophy cricket. By 13, he had notched a 58-ball century in Under-19 Test debut against Australia — the fastest by an Indian and the second-fastest ever in youth internationals. In the ACC U-19 Asia Cup in 2024, he amassed 176 runs at an average of 44, and had scored 177 runs in a quadrangular U-19 series with two fine half-centuries. He scored an unbeaten 332 in the Randhir Verma U-19 tournament in Bihar.

“When preparation meets opportunity, destiny doesn’t wait — it explodes onto the field.”

Suryavanshi aced his first impression with an effortless six over extra cover off his very first ball in the league. He eventually made a fiery 20-ball 34 against Lucknow Super Giants and was reduced to tears on being dismissed.

What followed two games later at home (vs GT) was not just a century, but a historic one at that.

Suryavanshi became the youngest Indian to score a century and the fastest to an IPL ton in the history of a tournament which began even before he was born! He also became the youngest (14 years 32 days) to smash a hundred in the shortest format.

“I only saw the ball, not the bowler,” the batter from Bihar exclaimed, standing proudly with the glittering Player-of-the-Match honour.

Suryavanshi is casting himself in the mould of the mythical Arjun’s from the Mahabharat who, during his training, claimed he saw nothing but the eye of the bird he was aiming at – a single-minded vision that led him to greatness.

Grounded

Suryavanshi’s beginnings can be traced to Samastipur in Bihar. His coach Manish Ojha proudly tells reporters and cricket enthusiasts alike that his ward would face 350-400 balls everyday to hone his craft. Just like Arjun, for whom perfection was second skin, Suryavanshi, too, was just as relentless at the Gen Next Cricket Academy in the state capital.

But behind this meteoric rise lies a story of quiet sacrifice and extraordinary humility.

“My mother used to sleep for three hours, wake up at 2am, prepare food for me. My father quit his job, my elder brother took over. Whatever results you are seeing today, my success is all because of my parents,” the batter said in an emotional post-inning interview. Fittingly, after his record-breaking hundred, the first call he made was to his father, beginning with quiet “Pranaam, Papa ji.”.

Suryavanshi’s performances drew praise from the who’s who of the Indian cricketing world. Former India cricketer and his mentor Wasim Jaffer observed, “In this format, for him to hit 11 sixes in IPL says so much about his ability and talent.”

Ojha underlines that not all of it is by design and much can be routed to his pupil’s innate strength and placement. “He can hit sixes even if the fielders are on the boundary. He regularly clears 80–90 meters.”

Even before his debut, fate seemed to write the script. In a Royals video, Suryavanshi foreshadowed his own’s IPL entry while asking teammate Fazalhaq Farooqi, “Have you ever hit a six off the first ball?”

Days later, he answered his own question — with a resounding yes.

Of course, greatness comes with its trials.

After a scintillating century against GT, Vaibhav Suryavanshi could only manage a two-ball duck in the next game against Mumbai Indians.
| Photo Credit:
Sportzpics for IPL

The highs of the century were followed by the dip of a two-ball duck against Mumbai Indians, much like Ishan Kishan’s hundred-and-duck early in the season. Jaffer was quick to put that in perspective. “Don’t get me wrong. A player of his ability is going to fail sometimes… But when he comes good, he’s a match-winner. So we’ve got to take the good with the bad.”

In just four matches of IPL 2025, Suryavanshi has racked up 151 runs at a staggering strike rate of 209.75 — including nine fours and 16 sixes. These are outstanding numbers one would come to expect of seasoned campaigners. That these are the returns from the bat of a boy four years younger than the tournament he’s playing in are phenomenal.

A young Arjun has arrived, with bat in hand, eyeing a bright future. The journey has just begun, but promises miles and miles, and quite a few milestones along the way.