Another edition of the IPL is on and there is another young star who has caught the imagination of the public. Fourteen year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi was picked up by Rajasthan Royals at 13 years for Rs 1.1 crore. Over the weekend the country saw the reason for that decision. In his very first match over the weekend against Lucknow Super Giants he smashed a fearless 34 off a mere 20 balls. The southpaw from Bihar's Samastipur made his intentions clear in his debut on Saturday in Jaipur, hitting the first ball he faced in the tournament for a big six. He later hit more sixes at will leaving the audience in awe. He had walked in with his team in a spot of bother but it did not disturb him one bit.
Another edition of the IPL is on and there is another young star who has caught the imagination of the public. Fourteen year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi was picked up by Rajasthan Royals at 13 years for Rs 1.1 crore. Over the weekend the country saw the reason for that decision. In his very first match over the weekend against Lucknow Super Giants he smashed a fearless 34 off a mere 20 balls. The southpaw from Bihar's Samastipur made his intentions clear in his debut on Saturday in Jaipur, hitting the first ball he faced in the tournament for a big six. He later hit more sixes at will leaving the audience in awe. He had walked in with his team in a spot of bother but it did not disturb him one bit.
The journey
At just 12 years and 284 days, he made his first-class debut for Bihar in the Ranji Trophy, becoming one of the youngest players in the tournament's history. He continued to impress by becoming the youngest Indian to debut in List A cricket at 13 during the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Internationally, Suryavanshi showcased his talent with a blistering 58-ball century against Australia in an Under-19 Test match, marking the fastest century by an Indian in that format.
other young players who caught everyone's attention:
Sachin Tendulkar
He came into the national consciousness at a very young age while still playing for his school. Sachin Tendulkar was the most complete batter of his time, the most prolific run-maker of all time, and arguably the biggest cricket icon the game has ever known. He was only 16 when he made his Test debut, and was hit in the face by Waqar Younis in that game, but continued to bat. His first Test hundred, a match-saving one at Old Trafford, came when he was 17, and he had 16 Test hundreds before he turned 25. In 2000 he became the first batter to have scored 50 international hundreds, in 2008 he passed Brian Lara as the leading Test run-scorer, and in the years after, he went past 13,000 Test runs, 30,000 international runs, and 50 Test hundreds.
Shaheen Afridi
A baby face perched on a two-metre body, Shaheen Afridi's story is trademark Pakistani. An 18-year old already comfortable in the green shirt of the national side, he's been on the radar of the national selectors for almost three years. In a more intimate circle, he was destined for great achievements well before his teenage years, with an international cricketer for an elder brother. He burst into the nation's consciousness with 8 for 39 on Quaid-e-Azam Trophy debut, the best-ever figures by a debutant in the competition. Later, he was picked for the PSL, where figures of five wickets for four runs in a group game for Lahore Qalandars won him a place in the T20I squad against the West Indies.
L Sivaramakrishnan
A superb spell of 7 for 28 on his Ranji Trophy debut against Delhi in 1981-82 brought the slim, wiry leg spinner into national prominence. Not yet 17, he was a member of the Indian team that went to Pakistan in 1982-83. At 17 years, 118 days he became the youngest Indian Test player against West Indies in Antigua later that season. He was not yet 19 when he won a Test match for India with 12 for 181 runs against England at Bombay in 1984-85 - by the end of the series he had 23 wickets and was adjudged man of the series. The icing on the cake came when he was in the Indian one-day squad that won the World Championship of Cricket in Australia in 1985 - he played a leading part in that triumph.
Harbhajan Singh
A player of passion with the talent to match, Harbhajan Singh kept the flag flying for finger spin in an era of prolific wrist spinners, flat pitches and big bats. Bowling with a windmilling, whiplash action, he varied his length and pace, and turned it the other way too.
His deadliest ball was the one that climbed wickedly from a length, forcing a hurried jab. In March 2001, it proved too much for the all-conquering Australians, and Harbhajan collected 32 wickets in three Tests - including the first Test hat-trick by an Indian - while none of his team-mates managed more than three.