Who is Vaibhav Suryavanshi?
Vaibhav’s entry to the IPL has been dramatic. He started his career with a six off the first ball he faced and went on to score a hundred in just his third appearance.
Born in Samastipur, a small district in India’s Bihar, he quickly showed promise. Vaibhav’s father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, himself a club-level cricketer, saw a spark in his son. But there were no proper academies around the district, so he started his training at home from the age of five.
Sanjeev, who used to run a small shop, began to realise his son needed a proper coach. So when Vaibhav turned eight, his father decided to take him to Patna city, a three-hour journey away.
“Many people would tell him: ‘What are you doing?’ But he was the first person to believe in Vaibhav’s abilities,” said Robin Singh, a coach from Bihar.
“To ensure his son trained well and got to use the best facilities, his father had to sell a plot of land. His mother had to make a lot of sacrifices too. She would wake up at three in the morning to prepare breakfast for him and would even send food for the coaches.”
How good can he be?
Almost half of the runs Suryavanshi has scored in the IPL (46%) have come through the mid-wicket and long-on region. He is particularly savage against pace bowling, scoring more than 100 runs at a strike-rate of 243 in this season’s IPL against the quicker men
Suryavanshi has already been nicknamed Boss Baby in cricketing circles by those who see comparisons with Chris Gayle, aka The Universe Boss.
West Indian Gayle still holds the record for the fastest IPL century, having taken just 30 balls in 2013, while Suryavanshi easily beat the record of 18 years and 118 days for the youngest player to score a T20 century which was previously held by Maharashtra’s Vijay Zol.
Sachin Tendulkar – the greatest run-scorer of all time – made his India debut aged just 16, and Suryavanshi’s former coach believe he will soon follow The Little Master into the national team.
“A guy from a small village in Bihar has made it to the IPL. The whole world is talking about him. So, he knows how to open doors. Don’t be surprised if he makes it to international level soon,” Singh said.
Before then, Suryavanshi, who has been gifted almost £9,000 by his state government following his IPL century, has his sights set on title-chasing Mumbai Indians on Thursday, where he comes face-to-face with Jasprit Bumrah, the world’s best bowler.
Listen to live commentary on Rajasthan Royals v Mumbai Indians on Thursday, live on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website and app