TEEN STAR: 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi catches the eye on IPL debut

If you had not watched Vaibhav Suryavanashi bat on Friday night, you missed something big. At 14 years and 23 days of age, when the boy from Bihar showed up for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants, hearts fluttered. How could someone so young, who had been wrapped in cotton wool in the IPL 2025 come out and face the hard world.

Jeez, the way he smashed Shardul Thakur for a first ball six, it became clear, Vaibhav is Destiny’s Child. Every move of the youngster had to be tracked, from his batting stance, to his shots and the tears, when he got out after scoring 34 runs off 22 balls. The IPL debut for Vaibhav was a lesson for fans as well as for himself. He knew, after the IPL auction, when he was being ‘chased’ as a hot product, Rajasthan Royals upped the bid. At Rs 1.1 crores, he was bought by a side which is mentored by Rahul Dravid. Forget all the negativity on Dravid these days on social media, he will ensure Vaibhav is not over-exposed.

Takeaways watching Vaibhav at the crease, he has a great game sense, responded more than enthusiastically to ‘calls’ from senior partner Yashasvi Jaiswal and soaked in the pressure on the big stage. To say that Viabhav had broken the internet would be stating the obvious, for he had started trending on social media and Google even before the first ball was bowled. The IPL has seen many heroes, many champions, but a callow youth who looked a kid in every sense behind the helmet visor managed himself well. There was no fear, there was no hesitancy as he handled a clutch of fast bowler who were testing him. Vaibhav’s records in first class cricket testify he has pedigree.

More important, he was able to prove himself at the RR academy before the trials when he was called. One knock cannot define if Vaibhav is fully cooked or has to be further groomed. The best part, sometimes, is to throw someone into the deep end of the pool. Well, Vaibhav was not just clinging to the wall, he swam, and showed he can stay afloat. For purists, Vaibhav and IPL may be a bit crazy. They may want the youngster to go through the grind of various stages of first-class cricket. That is old school. If Sachin Tendulkar could be thrown into a Test match in Karachi, Pakistan in November 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days, Vaibhav at 14 is suited for an IPL exposure.

Nobody wants a burnout and nobody wants to see him injured. At the same time, looking at his game, how he positions himself, uses his wrists well and runs between the wickets like a hare, it is clear, Vaibhav has been drilled well in the fundamentals. Above all, there was no adrenaline rush, even though he was watching Jaiswal explode when he was taking strike. It seemed, Vaibhav was ready to learn from the lessons. The way he backed up from the non-striker’s end was refreshing. It showed he knows how to start and even jump back if the striker refuses to set off for a single.

For sure, RR captain Riyan Parag was testing Vaibhav in the Power Play. The fielders were quite close, and this is where Vaibhav realised how much he has to create the shots. The lone blemish, so to say, was when he was stumped by Rishabh Pant off Aiden Markram. Vaibhav shed a tear, and tried to wipe it, with the helmet on. His tears were justified, after digging himself in so well, to lose his wicket, stumped was heart break. RR have not done well in the IPL 2025, but, personally for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the first day in an IPL office was bright.

The best who watched him have passed their comments. Most are positive, though social media handles from Pakistan have cast aspersions on Vaibhav’s age. You cannot blame, they are used to seeing Shahid Afridi and a few more stuck at the same age for years, even as their moustache and beard revealed they were full grown daddies. Vaibhav is true 14, and looks it. He needs to be preserved, for the talent and temperament is in sync.