Vaibhav Suryavanshi: A Hero at Fourteen

IT WAS THE Rajasthan Royals (RR) ver­sus Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) game in Hyderabad and the match had just ended. That’s when Vaibhav Suryavanshi approached one of the assistant coaches and asked, “Apna number kab aayega(When will my turn come)?” One of the members of the team’s support unit who was there put it nicely, “He was ready from the ball go. Not once did we sense any hesitation in his voice. He wanted to play and said as much to the coaches. From the start, he wanted to be a part of the action.”

With Sanju Samson out with an injury, Vaibhav got an opportunity. The very first ball he played in the IPL was hit for a six. Said the same source, “If you see some other players, the first ball is always played with a dead bat. While there is no harm in that, with Vaibhav things are different. He has been like this from a very young age and even when he played with a plastic bat, he always wanted to tonk the ball.”

It is this confidence that was on view when he played against the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Ishant Sharma in the match against the Gujarat Titans. In fact, in the very first over, Siraj pitched one up expect­ing the new ball to swing. Vaibhav was on to it in a flash and even before Siraj could react, the ball had sailed into the stands. It was a 90-me­tre monster six and the crowd had come alive. Many, including me, felt this could be a one-off and it is almost impossible to keep hitting shots like these. Vaibhav, however, was unde­terred. He meted out the same treatment to Ishant Sharma and by the time the power­play was done, it was evident that we were all watching something very special.

To go back once more to the same source: “During the camp in the Rajasthan Royals High Performance Academy on the outskirts of Nagpur, Vaibhav was just acing it. From the first ball itself, he would go for his shots. His range-hitting was of the highest calibre and each of the net bowlers felt he was a special talent. In fact, the best thing about him is that he keeps it simple. If the ball is in my range, I will hit it. ‘No matter who is bowling or whatever level I am playing at, I will hit it’ is his simple philosophy.”

Needless to say, it will work on some occa­sions, and not on others. There will be tough wickets and quality bowlers who will come at you and Vaibhav, too, will go through a bad patch. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that he has announced himself on the big stage as a real bundle of talent.

“Chote or Chota, that’s what the other play­ers in the team refer to him as. Even they were surprised by his approach. I remember Sanju telling him one day, ‘Arre yaar, Chote kar kya raha hai?’ We are all very pleased for him and the way he has taken up the challenge when he was thrown into the deep end.”

While Vaibhav has played a stellar innings and scored 100 of just 35 balls, which none of us will ever forget, it is equally true that he is still very young and there is nothing to sug­gest that he is the next big thing in Indian cricket. I have seen photos of Vaibhav being compared with Sachin when he was a 14-year-old. The truth is it is the worst possible thing to do. There can’t be a comparison and it is a recipe for disaster. We can’t compare Vaibhav with either Sachin or Virat or anyone else, for such comparisons are baseless and premature. Let him be and let him play. There will be a time when he will be struggling and that’s when the same people who make these com­parisons will start to troll him. The reaction can’t be in extremes and that’s what Indian cricket has suffered from all this while.

Vaibhav, however, from what sources close to him tell us, is unperturbed: “He loves his daal and chawal and give him some sabji, he is the happiest. He loves the sport and just wants to keep batting. The other good thing is he will connect everything with his batting. So if the trainer asks him to do a few physical drills, he will ask him how it can help his batting. It all comes down to the batting and that’s where you understand his singular focus.”

Many have said to me he can’t be 14. That he is more and is fudging his age. The truth is that I don’t know Vaibhav to comment on this. While his age is mentioned as 14 in the public domain, my point is how is this even relevant? If he is 15 and not 14, how does it even matter and does it change anything? The straight answer is no and that should end this debate once and for all. Rather, what he is do­ing in front of us is real-life cinema. Playing shots that leave us gasping and showing the temperament that has left us all in awe. It doesn’t really matter if he is 14-and-a-half or 15-years-and-three-months. What matters is the hunger. The audacity to take on bowlers like Siraj and play shots the way he does. Also, the keenness to step up when the team turned to him.

We don’t normally associate Bihar with quality cricket. The state association has for a long time fallen prey to politics and whenever we have heard of Bihar cricket in recent times, it has been for the wrong reasons. Two teams turning up claiming they are the original Bihar is the norm. To see Vaibhav Suryavanshi come out of such an ambience and make it big is a real statement.

I am conscious Vaibhav will also fail. Sooner, rather than later. For that’s how sport is. A great leveller. A hundred is mostly followed by a failure and that’s how you learn that the game is always bigger. Vaibhav, too, will learn with time. And how he deals with failure could well go on to define him as a player.

For the moment, it is all too easy. Shots are going out of the park, Sachin Tendulkar is tweeting about you and you are trending all across. Catches will stick and nothing can re­ally go wrong. It is a heady feeling. But then this isn’t the real world. The real world will also be about failure and struggle. Trying to find your groove when things don’t go to plan. That’s when he will be tested and challenged. For us, however, all we need to do at the mo­ment is enjoy. A real-life cinema unfolding be­fore our eyes needs to be watched and appre­ciated. In the Indian possible league, well and truly, everything is possible and Vaibhav is clear evidence. Wish the young man all the very best for future games.

Gujarat TitansIndian cricketIPLJaipurSachin TendulkarVaibhav SuryavanshiVirat Kohli