Vaibhav’s entry to the IPL has been dramatic. He started his career with a six off the first ball he faced and went on to score a hundred in just his third appearance.
Born in Samastipur, a small district in India’s Bihar, he quickly showed promise. Vaibhav’s father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, himself a club-level cricketer, saw a spark in his son. But there were no proper academies around the district, so he started his training at home from the age of five.
Sanjeev, who used to run a small shop, began to realise his son needed a proper coach. So when Vaibhav turned eight, his father decided to take him to Patna city, a three-hour journey away.
“Many people would tell him: ‘What are you doing?’ But he was the first person to believe in Vaibhav’s abilities,” said Robin Singh, a coach from Bihar.
“To ensure his son trained well and got to use the best facilities, his father had to sell a plot of land. His mother had to make a lot of sacrifices too. She would wake up at three in the morning to prepare breakfast for him and would even send food for the coaches.”
Vaibhav impressed his new coaches in no time.
“When I started working with him, I found him quite different from others. You would give him a demo of a technique or a shot, and he would pick it up in no time,” Ojha said.
“Most of the players adopt things easily in practice, but when it comes to playing matches, they fail. But the unique feature about Vaibhav was that he would execute things perfectly even during high-pressure matches.”
Vaibhav was always ahead of his age group. From his strokeplay to game awareness, he would stand out.
“Within 10 days of playing alongside the kids of his age, we realised we were wasting his time. So, we started making him practise with senior players,” Singh recalled.
Vaibhav would practise daily from 7.30am to 4pm, facing 450 balls each day. By the time he was 12, his coaches were confident enough to let him pursue cricket professionally.
He played for the Bihar under-19s team and amassed consistent runs, prompting selectors to name him in the India Under-19s team. Aged just 13, he smashed a 58-ball hundred in a youth Test against Australia.
He was soon drafted into Bihar’s squad for the Ranji Trophy (India’s premier first-class tournament) before becoming the youngest player to get a contract at the IPL auction as Rajasthan signed him for £103,789 (1.1 crore rupees) in December 2024.
“Vaibhav’s role model is Brian Lara, so his game is aggressive, and he plays the ball on merit without any fear at all,” Ojha added.
“We expected him to get an IPL contract, and our joy doubled the moment Rajasthan Royals got him because they have [India legend] Rahul Dravid on their coaching staff.”
Singh added: “When he became the youngest to debut in first-class cricket, I told him: ‘Anyone can become the youngest. I’ll be happy when you become the youngest centurion.’ So yesterday he called me up after scoring the century and said: ‘Sir, youngest centurion.’ And I couldn’t be prouder.”
