Vaibhav Suryavanshi: Father had to sell his farm for his son, Vaibhav struggled a lot to have a bat swing like Yuvi

To score a century, Vaibhav hit a six off the world's best spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and showed that India's future is in safe hands. However, this journey has not been easy for Vaibhav. He and his family had to struggle a lot for this success. Let's know...

 

Rajasthan Royals' young batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi has scored a century in IPL at the age of 14, becoming the youngest batsman in the world to do so. Vaibhav scored 101 runs in 38 balls against Gujarat Titans on Monday. He also became the fastest Indian to score a century in this league. Vaibhav also became the youngest player to make IPL debut. He made his debut against Lucknow Super Giants. Vaibhav faced Shardul Thakur on the first ball of his IPL career and showed how much talent he has by hitting a six on the first ball.

 

 

 

Now to complete his century, he hit a six off the ball of the world's best spinner Rashid Khan of Afghanistan and proved that India's future is in safe hands. However, this journey has not been easy for Vaibhav. He and his family have faced a lot of struggles. His father even sold his land for his cricket career. Questions were also raised on Vaibhav's age, but this young man proved his mettle to everyone with his strength and determination. 

It is said that the fruits of five years of training 

are visible in the cradle. In the very first IPL match, Vaibhav's talent was shown by scoring 34 runs in 20 balls. After this, Vaibhav showed his talent by playing small but brave innings. Now he has shown his strength in front of the world by scoring a century. By hitting bowlers like Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Washington Sundar, Rashid Khan and Karim Janat, he has indicated that one should not make the mistake of considering him a small child. His shots are powerful and accurate like a sailor's arrow. However, the question arises that how can a 14-year-old player generate so much power in his strokes that he sent the ball into the stands not once but several times while facing a top level attack? In his innings against Gujarat on Monday, Vaibhav hit seven fours and 11 sixes. 

His coach Manish Ojha from Patna says, 'You people must have seen the power in his shots. You must have seen the swing of the bat and the right timing. If strength was the only criterion for hitting a six, wrestlers would have played cricket. This is five years of training in which Vaibhav played 600 hundred balls every day.' When normal 14-year-olds are busy playing PlayStation and doing homework, this teenager from Samastipur, Bihar hit sixes off many experienced bowlers. He sent the ball into the stands of the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. Coach Ojha recognized this special talent and ensured that from the age of 10, Vaibhav was prepared in such a way that whenever he got a chance, he was ready for the big challenge. 

 

 

Father sold his farmland for his son

Such talent did not develop overnight, the foundation of this incredible story was laid when his father Sanjeev Suryavanshi sold his farmland to fulfil his son's cricketing dreams. The Bihar Cricket Association supported Vaibhav and got him a place in the Ranji Trophy. The Under-19 national selectors headed by Tilak Naidu got him into Colt Test cricket. Finally, Rahul Dravid and Zubin Bharucha of Rajasthan Royals contributed to polishing this uncut diamond by making him face side-arm throwdowns at speeds of over 150 before the start of the IPL. Ojha praises Vaibhav's father and his sacrifice. His father used to travel 100 km every other day to show matches. His mother was very conscious about his diet. If a person plays 600 balls a day, he will need more nutrition in terms of protein.

 

Vaibhav 's bat swing is like Yuvraj's,

says his coach Ojha, "When he was eight years old, his father Sanjeev brought him to me. Every child is different, but if I look at other boys of that age, he had the understanding to execute whatever was taught to him. His method, back-lift, execution, intention, all were always in sync. Other boys in academies probably play 50 balls a day. I have uploaded about 40 videos of Vaibhav's training sessions on YouTube. You will see that his bat swing is like Yuvraj Singh's." Vaibhav has so far scored 151 runs in three matches in the IPL at an average of 75.50 and an excellent strike rate of 222.05. 

 

There was controversy over Vaibhav's age as well.

Vaibhav was the surprising player during the Jeddah IPL mega auction last year. Then the 13-year-old player was bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore. Born on 27 March 2011 in Bihar, Vaibhav is the youngest player to be sold in the auction. However, controversy started as soon as this young cricketer became a millionaire in the auction. Questions were raised about his age.

 

However, Vaibhav's father did not budge and gave a befitting reply to the critics. He said that he is not afraid of anyone and whatever information has been given is correct. Sanjeev, who sold cultivable land in Motipur village, 15 km from Samastipur, had no words after his son became a millionaire in the auction. Sanjeev had then said that Vaibhav is no longer his son but the son of the entire Bihar. According to Sanjeev, his son worked hard at the age of eight and succeeded in the district's Under-16 trials. On the controversy regarding Vaibhav's age, Sanjeev had said that when he was eight and a half years old, his bones were tested by BCCI. He says that he is not afraid of anyone in this regard. We can go for any test in the future also.

 

Vaibhav, who has made a splash in domestic cricket,

made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024, when he was just 12 years and 284 days old. Last year, he was part of India Under-19's match against Australia in Chennai, where he scored a century in 58 balls. With this, Vaibhav set the record for the fastest century by an Indian in Under-19 Tests. The youngster hit 14 fours and four sixes during his strong innings. He was run out after scoring 104 runs off just 62 balls. He also made his T20 debut for Bihar during the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy T20 Tournament 2024. However, he could not score many runs in his only match. He was also the seventh-highest run-scorer in the ACC Under 19 Asia Cup 2024-25. He scored 176 runs in five matches in the tournament, with his highest score being 76*.