This was Vaibhav Suryavanshi's third T20 century in 2025 in just 15 innings.
At 14 years of age, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has already scored a century in the IPL, Asia Cup Rising Stars, and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, in addition to U-19 cricket. There is no stopping the wonderkid as he continues to plunder bowlers of all ages. On Tuesday, he became the youngest centurion in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy at 14 years and 250 days of age. He was up against Maharashtra and hammered a century off 58 deliveries. It was a rather slow knock by his standards, as he has a strike rate of 217.88 in T20s. Suryavanshi already has two centuries off 32 and 35 deliveries. But with his consistency against all bowlers at such a young age, he has definitely put Ajit Agarkar, the chairman of the BCCI Selection Committee, on notice.
While he won't be eligible for the T20 World Cup 2026, considering he is still underage, he could force the selectors to hand him the India cap in T20s when he turns 16 ahead of the T20 WC 2028. And it won't be an absurd call, despite the fact that the top-order is overcrowded with multiple players, including captain-elect Shubman Gill, set to fight for the spot.
In his second season in First Class cricket, he smashed 93 against Meghalaya even as his senior teammates struggled. The Rajasthan Royals opener continued that run in the Asia Cup Rising Stars, hammering a 42-ball 144 against the UAE. While he could not follow that up with high scores in the following matches, he still gave his team fast starts to put the opposition off. Suryavanshi now has three centuries in 2025 in just 15 innings.
On Tuesday, Vaibhav Suryavanshi was the lone warrior in the Bihar vs Maharashtra match at the Eden Gardens. On a sluggish pitch, other batters struggled. But Suryavanshi shouldered the responsibilities in an unbeaten knock of 108 off 61 balls. He added two crucial partnerships of 70 and 75 after Bihar were down to 31/2 inside the powerplay.
Many would argue that Suryavanshi is not of the right age to play international cricket. That bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Kagiso Rabada or Mark Wood would be too much for him. But even as the child prodigy is undergoing body development and is yet to get his facial hair, he has sent a warning signal to all bowlers.
In the IPL, he went after the likes of international pros like Mohd Siraj, Washington Sundar, and a veteran like Ishant Sharma. He did not spare Arshdeep Singh or Marco Jansen either. While the argument could be that he is not ready for the big stage on regular occasions, Ajit Agarkar has already shown that he can fast-track players if he finds a player exceptional. Sai Sudharshan and Harshit Rana have both been fast-tracked to all formats. And the Agarkar-led selection panel and India head coach Gautam Gambhir would be tempted to throw him to the world stage in the next T20 World Cup cycle.