From fan to phenom: Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s meteoric rise in Indian cricket

Dubai: Eight years ago, a six-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi was just another wide-eyed fan in the crowd, cheering for the Rising Pune Supergiant. On Monday night, he became the story — a 14-year-old smashing the fastest IPL century by an Indian, watched by millions, including the very team owner whose side he once adored from the stands.

A photo shared by Lucknow Super Giants owner Sanjiv Goenka showed young Vaibhav at the 2017 match, beaming with a flag in hand. That same boy, now a rising star, etched his name into the IPL record books with a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans — the second-fastest in IPL history after Chris Gayle’s 30-ball blitz.

“Last night I watched in awe… this morning I came across this photo of 6-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi cheering for my then team, Rising Pune Supergiant, in 2017. Thanks, Vaibhav. Lots of good wishes and support,” Goenka wrote.

It was only Suryavanshi’s third IPL match. At 14 years and 32 days, he hammered 101 off just 38 balls to become the youngest player to score a century in both IPL and T20 cricket.

“Salute to the spirit, the confidence, the talent... the young Vaibhav Suryavanshi... wow! A fabulous century off 35 balls,” Goenka added on X.

Suryavanshi, who made his debut against Lucknow Super Giants, had already made an impression then — hitting a six off the very first ball he faced from Shardul Thakur.

His coach, Avinash Singh, credited the teenager’s rise to his relentless hard work and focus.

“Vaibhav was just eight years old when he came to us. It was me and my fellow coach, Manish Kumar, who began working with him. We put in a lot of hard work — but Vaibhav has worked harder than any of us. A coach doesn’t make a great player; it is the player who makes a coach great. And Vaibhav is one such player,” Singh said on Star Sports.

Singh also praised Vaibhav’s father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, for recognising his son’s gift early on and making incredible sacrifices to support him.

“His father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, was the first person to truly recognise that spark. Four times a week, without fail, he would bring Vaibhav all the way from Samastipur to Patna — just so his son could train. That kind of dedication deserves a salute,” he added.

Against a formidable Gujarat Titans bowling line-up that included Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Karim Janat, and R Sai Kishore, the young batter from Bihar turned heads with a fearless display.

India batting coach Vikram Rathour was among those left stunned.

“We’ve been watching it in the nets the last few months. So we knew what he was capable of and what kind of shots he could play. He’s a special, special talent. Technically, he has a great downswing, which helps him generate that kind of power. Today, he showed everyone exactly how good he is. Honestly, you could keep talking about that knock endlessly.”

“Saw him maybe four months back when he came for the trials. All of us knew we had found something special. It was up to us to nurture him and bring him to this level. Credit to him — he kept his nerve, he has a solid head on his shoulders, and he’s shown what he’s capable of,” he added.