India’s teen batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi met with Nitish Kumar, Samrat Chaudhary and Shreyasi Singh at the Chief Minister’s House on Sunday, as Bihar formally honoured one its brightest new sporting stars. The Chief Minister presented the 14-year-old with an INR 50 Lakh cheque, calling it a recognition of a breakthrough year that has pushed the youngster into the national spotlight. The meeting comes at a moment when Sooryavanshi’s rise is no longer framed as promise alone, but as performance that has already tilted major matches. At an age when most players are still being introduced to elite pathways, he has begun shaping them.
A U-19 World Cup campaign that changed the conversation
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s latest surge was headlined by a stunning performance in the Under 19 World Cup 2026 final against England, where he struck 175 off 80 balls to earn the Player of the Match award. His innings, packed with 15 fours and 15 sixes, ripped open the contest and helped India seal their sixth U-19 World Cup title. He reached his century in 55 balls, and finished the campaign as the player of the tournament.
Across seven matches, the left-handed opener amassed 439 runs at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.50, while also leading the six-hitting charts with 30 maximums. Those numbers have turned him from a viral highlight-maker into a batter opponents are now forced to plan for in phases: new ball, spin in the middle, and pace at the death. The scale of the hitting has been matched by consistency, which is often the real separator at youth level.
His run of record-making started gathering pace in October 2024, when he hammered a 58-ball century for India U-19 against Australia U19 in Chennai, a knock that set the tone for what followed. He is also the leading run-scorer for India in U19 ODIs, with 1,412 runs in 25 innings at an average of 56.48 and a strike rate above 165, including four hundreds and seven fifties, with a top score of 175.
The surge has already crossed into senior franchise cricket. In the IPL, Sooryavanshi became the youngest debutant at 14 years and 23 days, and later the youngest centurion with a 35-ball hundred for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans. With the IPL 2026 approaching, Rajasthan Royals are expected to build a key portion of their batting plans around him, even as the larger test now becomes repeating impact under the weight of expectation.
