Tears rolled down Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s eyes as he walked towards the dugout after being stumped by Rishabh Pant. The 14-year-old batter, who became the youngest player to make an Indian Premier League (IPL) debut on Saturday, could not come to terms with such a dismissal.
As he slowly walked back, nodding his head in disappointment, a packed Sawai Mansingh Stadium chanted his name to acknowledge his efforts. After all, not many imagined a teenager to smack Shardul Thakur for a six to start his IPL campaign. Not once did the youngster look under pressure, en route to his 20-ball-34, and played every ball on its merit.
Suryavanshi’s smart approach towards batting impressed the cricketing fraternity, including former India captain Krishnamachari Srikkanth, who was reminded of a young Sachin Tendulkar, who toured Pakistan at the age of 16.
While it’s too early to predict where the youngster goes from here, Suryavanshi has certainly made his presence felt.
Hailing from Samastipur, a city about 100 kilometres from Patna, he made his first-class debut against Mumbai in January last year, and went on to score a 58-ball-century for India in a youth Test against Australia in September, and was also a key member of the U-19 Asia Cup squad, and his consistent performances at the junior-level caught the attention of the IPL scouts.
While he appeared for trials, it was Rajasthan Royals which ultimately picked him for Rs 1.10 crore at the mega auction in November last year. Thereafter, the youngster has had long training camps with the franchise in its academy in Nagpur, and ever since bringing him on board, the Royals have ensured that Suryavanshi remained away from the spotlight, as that could have been a distraction for him.
He was kept away from the media, and under the guidance of Royals head coach Rahul Dravid, it was ensured that Suryavanshi felt comfortable in the camp and wasn’t overwhelmed by the presence of international cricketers. Throughout the season, he could be seen interacting with Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag and picking their brains. And despite some inconsistencies in the batting department, the Royals did not rush him to the playing eleven.
After seven games in the season, his chance finally came after Samson missed out due to an injury.
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“When the opportunity came, it was important to give him a chance, and today was the day. He was batting well in the nets, his preparation was good,” said Sairaj Bahutule, the team’s spin-bowling coach.
Having worked with Suryavanshi at the franchise and at the National Cricket Academy earlier, Bahutule believes that a ‘brave approach’ towards the game has been the youngster’s biggest strength.
“He is a great kid with a really good head on his shoulders. I think he has got a game which is almost 360 degrees. He is courageous and he is brave and you obviously saw that,” he said, adding, “The approach at that age is also very dominating and he wants to play his shorts. He doesn’t really feel that he is playing against some particular bowler. He just faces the ball. His theory is to watch the ball and hit the ball…”
And, this approach has certainly helped the young gun. While opening the innings with the seasoned Yashasvi Jaiswal, he did not hold back and dealt in boundaries to keep the opponent bowlers under pressure, and as Avesh Khan noted, “It felt good to see his batting. He had free-flowing batting. Generally, when you play the first match of the IPL, you get nervous. But, he hit the first ball to Shardul…”
Avesh was unlucky as Prince dropped a catch of Suryavanshi in his over, but the fast bowler admired the youngster’s grit.
“When a batsman makes his debut and hits a six, the opponent team comes to the back foot. He is young. He is playing well. I wish him luck. His batting is good, and if he works hard, he can do well in the future,” Avesh, an India international, said.
Before the season got underway, during one of the sessions, Suryavanshi asked a few Royals bowlers about their feelings on being hit for a six on the first ball. While the bowlers put forward their point of view, little did they imagine that the youngest member of the team was visualising a similar instance, albeit with the bat.
And, when the moment came, he started off with a six and made a huge statement.
Welcome to the IPL, Vaibhav Suryavanshi!