'Why settle for a single when you can launch one into the stands for six?'
That's the question Vaibhav Suryavanshi cheekily posed to a cricket coach in the early stages of his cricketing career — long before his name was splashed across IPL headlines. On April 19, that swagger turned into reality as the 14-year-old prodigy stepped onto the big stage and flat-batted Shardul Thakur over extra cover for six — off the very first ball of his IPL debut.
He’s only laced up for three matches, but already, Suryavanshi has turned heads with every swing of the bat — unleashing blistering bat speed, fearless hitting, and the kind of composure that makes even seasoned bowlers flinch. On Monday, he dismantled a Gujarat Titans attack stacked with international names like Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Rashid Khan, Washington Sundar, and R Sai Kishore, blazing his way to the youngest-ever men's T20 century. And he didn’t just break records — he smashed the second-fastest IPL hundred ever, reaching triple digits in just 35 deliveries.
So who exactly is this 14-year-old phenom lighting up the IPL?
Who is Vaibhav Suryavanshi?
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s journey to cricketing stardom didn’t begin under stadium lights — it started in the quiet village of Tajpur in Bihar’s Samastipur district.
With barely any proper training facilities back home, the young talent and his father, Sanjiv Suryavanshi, whose own shot at cricketing glory was cut short on the dog-eat-dog maidans of Mumbai, juggling gigs as a nightclub bouncer and caretaker at a public restroom, would make a grueling 90-kilometre trek to Patna almost every single day.
The odds were stacked high, but with his father’s unwavering belief and sacrifices, Vaibhav kept chasing the dream.
Suryavanshi shared in a heartfelt post-match video on the IPL's official site after hammering a 38-ball 101 in Jaipur: "I am what I am because of my parents. 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 the job. We had limited means, but my father backed me to succeed. Whatever results you are seeing today, my success is all because of my parents."
His rise through the ranks has been nothing short of meteoric. At just 12 years and 284 days old, he broke into the first-class scene for Bihar during the 2023–24 Ranji Trophy — India's top-tier red-ball competition.
Before that, he impressed in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, earning a call-up for the Under-19 Quadrangular series in Andhra Pradesh's Mulapadu — squaring off with the likes of Bangladesh, England, and two Indian youth teams. He also hit a triple hundred in a local competition in his home state of Bihar.
It wasn't long before the big break came: at the 2024 IPL auction, the Rajasthan Royals snapped him up for a jaw-dropping £103,789 ($138,000, 1.1 crore rupees), making him the youngest player to land a contract that season.
Inspired by the legendary Brian Lara, Vaibhav mirrors that fearless flair at the crease. His approach? Simple — play each ball on merit, go hard when it's there to hit, and never back down.
Despite a blockbuster introduction, the talented left-hander is just getting started, but for now, the mood is electric in the Suryavanshi house back in Samastipur, celebrations are in full swing, and rightly so.
His father Sanjiv expressed his emotion via a video released by the Bihar Cricket Association: "He has made our village, Bihar and the whole of India proud. We could not be happier and are celebrating. I want to thank the Rajasthan Royals who worked on him extensively in the last three-four months. I want to thank head coach Rahul Dravid and the rest of the support staff for improving Vaibhav's game. He himself has worked very hard on his game and this hundred is a result of that."
What's Vaibhav Suryavanhi's real age? And what's his ceiling?
There's been some chatter around the true age of the Rajasthan Royals’ young sensation, with an old 2023 interview hinting that he was turning 14 that year — sparking whispers that he might be a tad older than reported.
But frankly, age-group eligibility feels like yesterday's concern. The bigger conversation now is just how far Vaibhav Suryavanshi can go — a fearless, Lara-inspired southpaw with a backyard origin story straight out of a cricketing fairytale. His craft was sharpened on a cement strip built by his father Sanjeev, nestled in the heart of farmland in Samastipur, Bihar.
Cricket fans have already dubbed him Boss Baby and the 'Chain Kuli Ki Main Kuli' kid — a throwback to the 2007 film starring Zain Khan and Rahul Bose — a playful tip of the hat to his fearless hitting, presence at the crease, and that baby face.
While self-proclaimed Universe Boss Chris Gayle's 30-ball IPL ton from 2013 still reigns supreme as the fastest ever in league history, Suryavanshi isn't far behind. He may not have shattered Gayle's record, but he did smash the previous mark for the youngest T20 centurion — eclipsing Vijay Zol's long-standing milestone of 18 years and 118 days.
The whispers are getting louder. With shades of Sachin Tendulkar, who debuted for India at 16 and went on to rewrite the record books, there's belief that Suryavanshi could follow in the Little Master's footsteps and make his India debut sooner rather than later.