Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shifted his back foot to the side, sunk his broad shoulders, extended his bat almost horizontally, and drove the white ball out of the field and into the front of a packed corporate stand.
It was a veteran baseball slugger’s shot, not a 14-year-old opponent’s shot. first ball ever In the world’s largest and most watched cricket league.
Thus began the elite career of a boy who, for many, is the greatest sporting genius of this generation.
Probably any.
“A veritable God’s gift to Indian cricket” are the words cricketing great Sunil Gavaskar has given to Sooryavanshi, who has been hitting the ball with ferocity despite his ferocious face in the glamorous, high-pressure environment of the Indian Premier League over the past year.
In his recently completed first full IPL campaign, he finished as the top run-scorer with a record number of sixes and was named MVP. Among his prizes was a car, which, of course, he would not be able to legally drive for three years.
Now 15 years old, he has been likened to Indian cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and is pursued by sponsors who want a piece of cricket, a piece of the sport. — The next important thing is that Suryavanshi becomes international.
On Friday, the left-handed opening batter will become the youngest player in history. Indian senior men’s team — 15 years and 91 days — if, as expected, he is selected in the first of two Twenty20 squads to face Ireland in Belfast.
After that, five T20s will be introduced in England, and the eyes on Suryavanshi will become even more intense.
Expect him to keep everything in order.
Last month, former England captain Michael Vaughan told the story of a chance meeting with the Boy Wonder before a match in this season’s IPL, and how much he admired the way he played.
“I said, ‘How do you prepare for a game?'” Vaughan recalled on Stick to Cricket. “And he said, ‘I’m watching anime.'” I said, “What are you going to eat?” He said, “Everything.”
“There are modern players. They watch cartoons, eat whatever they want, and knock it out of the ground.”
Signed for $1 million at age 13
Sooryavanshi hails from Tajpur, a small agricultural town in northern Bihar between the Ganges River and the Nepal border.
His father, Sanjiv, was a cricket enthusiast and gave his third son a bat at the age of four. By the time Vaibhav was 10 years old, commuting early in the morning to the Next Generation Academy some 100km away, his incredible talent was clear, especially the way he hit the ball hard and cleanly, with a high backlift that reminded onlookers of West Indies great Brian Lara.
Sooryavanshi made his debut in elite senior cricket at the age of 12 in the Ranji Trophy for Bihar and became a world champion at the age of 13. youngest player to seal an IPL contract when Rajasthan Royals acquired him for $1.1 million for the 2025 season.
His first IPL shot — a powerful six-over extra cover against Indian fast bowler Shardul Thakur — underlined his status as the next Tendulkar. 35 ball centurywas the second fastest in IPL history in the third match.
A star was born.
Techniques to look “effortless”
When you look at Sooryavanshi — strong arms, dark hair parted on the sides, thick build — what immediately stands out is his uncanny ability to hit the ball hard and far, no matter where it is thrown.
It typically comes down to his technique of moving back and forth in the crease, sinking his shoulders, doing a high backlift at a 45-degree angle like Lara, keeping his arms away from his body, and executing shots that generate huge power with his amazingly coiled wrists.
Mark King, a professor of sports biomechanics at Loughborough University who has worked on a project with the England and Wales Cricket Board, noted how Sooryavanshi “makes the most of his body” by using his core to generate hand speed and, in turn, bat speed.
King said that from the footage he had seen, Suryavanshi’s technique drew comparisons to fellow West Indies player Viv Richards Lara and former England captain Jos Buttler. “They look like really skilled people and willing to put in the effort.”
This kid has made the world’s best fast bowlers look foolish, beating Jasprit Bumrah and Pat Cummins by six runs in the first bowl in the IPL.
Former England Test captain Alastair Cook said: “He waits for the ball to come at him at 90 miles an hour and reacts to it and still hits a clean six. That’s what’s so unusual about him.”
A record-breaking player who aims to win the title in 10 and 20 years.
After being named MVP in the IPL, Suryavanshi said in an internal interview with Rajasthan that he wants to play for India in all three formats – T20s, 50 overs and Tests. “I should not just play, I should dominate for 10-20 years.”
It’s a big word, but he stands by it.
In February, he helped India win the U-19 World Cup trophy. 175 off 80 balls His score in the final against England is the highest individual score in an ICC World Tournament final.
Playing for India A on Sunday, he scored a half-century in 11 balls with a knock of 94 off 29 balls with only one dot ball against Sri Lanka A. According to the BBC, it was the fastest 50 in 50-over cricket history.
If named for Friday’s game against Ireland, Sooryavanshi will become the youngest player to break the world record in the top-tier men’s T20. record Joshua Little from Ireland (16 years and 309 days). Tendulkar was 16 years and 205 days old when he made his Test debut in 1989 and made his ODI debut 33 days later.
There is only one player younger than Sooryavanshi in men’s international cricket, Hasan Raza. He was 14 years and 227 days old when he made his Test debut for Pakistan in 1996.
In 2020, the International Cricket Council set the minimum age for players to compete internationally at 15.
Off the field, Sooryavanshi’s age prevents him from taking up certain sponsorship opportunities, such as with gambling companies, but experts still believe his marketing potential is huge. Dan Plumley, senior lecturer in sports finance at Loughborough University, said the teenager ambassador For the energy drink Complan, this is proof that we can partner with a brand that targets the health-conscious generation.
“What’s really interesting from a broader perspective is that he has the ability to bring a younger generation of people into a sport that they might not necessarily have been interested in,” Plumlee added.
Comaneci, Pele and other sporting geniuses
It’s rare to find someone so good at such a young age in an elite level team sport.
Pele At the age of 17, he was a star player for the Brazilian national team in the 1958 World Cup championship. Lamine Yamal At the age of 16, he will represent Spain at the 2024 European Championship.
Romanian gymnast in individual competition Nadia Comaneci At the age of 14, she became the first diver in Olympic history to score a perfect 10 and win the individual all-around title at the 1976 Montreal Games. American diver Marjorie Guestling became an Olympic gold medalist at the age of 13.
In tennis, Jennifer Capriati began competing in professional competitions at age 13 and became Olympic singles champion at age 16, while Martina Hingis and Monica Seles won Grand Slam singles titles at age 16.
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