Follow UsVaibhav Suryavanshi has been in the news ever since he had a breakout season in the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL), where he scored a whirlwind hundred in just 35 deliveries.
After that, he was also selected for the India U19 Men’s Team tour to England, where he shone with the bat in the five one-day games with 355 runs at a strike rate of 174 and scored a 56 off 44 deliveries in the first Youth Test.
Apart from the Indian cricket ecosystem, Suryavanshi caught the attention of the England and Wales Cricket Board’s (ECB) statistician and analyst Daniel Peacock, who told the Times of India about the teenager’s impression on him.
“The first time I watched him in the flesh, though, I do remember a real air of excitement at Northamptonshire for the second one-dayer – more photos, more press, the BBC had even come to see him play,” Peacock said, as quoted by the Times of India.
“I knew I was watching a serious star talent. He hit 86 from 31 in a 40-over game [reduced due to weather], which included six fours and nine sixes [match 3 at Northants]. He got a standing ovation after pulling the pacer Sebastian Morgan to backward square leg. The PA announcer, when announcing his score after the dismissal, said: ‘I think we will be seeing a lot more of this boy play.
“Then at New Road, home of Worcestershire, in a near-perfect all-round performance, he strutted comfortably to 143 off 78 balls. By the time he walked off after being caught in the deep to spin, I think everyone inside the venue had long realised they had just witnessed something really special.”
Peacock revealed that Suryavanshi had made people show up to the Youth games, and people are already becoming his fans. He went on to also add that he had not seen any 14-year-old who is so good in any sport, and as a result, the boy from Bihar already has more expectations on him than Sachin Tendulkar and Virat Kohli had at his age.
“People are starting to make noise about him here. Cricket fans already know who he is – even if they can’t all pronounce his name “ Peacock told.
“These games usually attract a few die-hards, but there’s certainly been a little extra media attention (we’ve had the likes of BBC, The Athletic, Getty, etc.), and a lot of British-Indians have come to watch Vaibhav play in the flesh for the first time.
“I’m sure it won’t be too long until he’s playing at the highest level – Test and international cricket. When he does make his debut and starts scoring big, everyone in the world will know who he is.
“The people I’ve spoken to in the game – I think we all have the same feeling. We’ve watched and witnessed a young star in the making, something very special. I would go as far as to say he’s probably the best 14-year-old in any sport that I’ve seen live. I think the sentiment in England is that we are watching a very special young boy playing cricket – and the expectancy is Tendulkar-Kohli-level, or even beyond.”
The second Youth Test will begin on July 20 in Chelmsford.