Hailing from a small village in Bihar, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is fast emerging as one of India’s most promising cricket players.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, just 13, made headlines ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction by becoming the youngest cricketer in history to be shortlisted for an IPL auction.
Regardless of whether the youngster attracts a bid from any of the 10 IPL teams at the upcoming auction in Jeddah on November 24 and 25, the left-handed batter has already captured the imagination of cricket fans and pundits alike, who are sure to keep a close eye on the youngster’s progress.
Where was Vaibhav Suryavanshi born?
Born on March 27, 2011, in Bihar’s Tajpur village, Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s cricketing journey began at the age of four with his father Sanjeev, a farmer by profession, noticed his child’s passion for cricket and decided to foster it by building a small playing area for Vaibhav in the backyard of their home.
Once Vaibhav turned nine, Sanjeev enrolled him in a cricket academy in the nearby town of Samastipur.
“After practising for two-and-a-half years there, I gave Under-16 trials for the Vijay Merchant Trophy,” Vaibhav told the Times of India. “I was on standby due to my age. By God’s grace, I started coaching under Manish Ojha sir, a former Ranji player. He has taught me a lot and whatever I am today, it is because of him.”
The young southpaw’s talent was obvious and before long, Vaibhav Suryavanshi quickly rose through the ranks of Bihar cricket.
Head and shoulders above anyone else in his age group, Vaibhav, barely 12 years old at the time, played in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Bihar, accumulating around 400 runs in just five matches.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s cricket career
Vaibhav was subsequently picked in the India B U-19 team for an Under-19 quadrangular series in Mulapadu, Andhra Pradesh in November 2023.
Also featuring an India A squad as well as Bangladesh and England U-19 teams, the tournament was essentially a trial to pick the Indian team for the ICC U-19 World Cup 2024.
Opening the innings, Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 41 against England, a duck against Bangladesh and eight against India A, which wasn’t quite enough to earn him a spot in the final squad.
However, the youngster bounced right back and impressed Bihar selectors in a U-23 selection camp to earn a place in the state’s Ranji Trophy squad.
Vaibhav was handed his first-class debut in Bihar’s Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Elite Group B clash against a strong Mumbai side in Patna in January 2024.
Aged just 12 years and 284 days at the time, Vaibhav Suryavanshi also became the youngest Indian to make a first-class debut since 1986 and the second-youngest to ever play in the Ranji Trophy for Bihar.
In fact, only three Indians – Alimuddin (12 years and 73 days), SK Bose (12 years and 76 days) and Mohammad Ramzan (12 years and 247 days) – to date have played first-class cricket at a younger age than Vaibhav.
To reiterate, Sachin Tendulkar and Yuvraj Singh, two of the youngest first-class debutants in modern Indian cricket, were both over 15 when they made their respective first-class debuts.
In September 2024, Vaibhav Suryavanshi scripted yet another slice of history when he made his India U-19 debut in a youth Test match against Australia in Chennai. The young Bihar batter slammed a 62-ball 104 before being run out.
During the match at the Chepauk, Vaibhav, just 13 years and 188 days old at the time, brought up his century in just 58 balls, making it the fastest hundred ever recorded by an Indian in youth Tests and the second-fastest overall.
His century, which included five sixes and 14 fours, was only second to England’s Moeen Ali, who had hit a 56-ball ton against Sri Lanka back in 2005.
Though it’s still early days in fledgling Vaibhav’s career, the signs have been promising for the youngster, who idolises fellow southpaw Brian Lara.
