Vaibhav Suryavanshi Exclusive: Undeterred by age-fraud claims, Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s father wants his son to concentrate on cricket as the 13-year-old from Bihar chases his dreams of donning the senior national jersey on day. Vaibhav, who recently became the youngest Indian to score an international century, once again grabbed headlines as he became the youngest-ever to bag an Indian Premier League contract, when Rajasthan Royals picked the young boy from Samastipur for Rs 1.10 crore.
In an exclusive conversation with India.com, his father, Sanjiv Suryavanshi, spoke about Vaibhav’s journey, challenges, and ambitions. “His dream is to play for India in the next few years, and we believe he can achieve it,” Sanjiv shared proudly. As Sanjiv puts it, “He has the talent, focus, and the will to succeed, and we’re excited to see what the future holds”.
Known for his attacking style of play, Vaibhav has quickly gained attention in cricketing circles. His performances against Australia A recently and during trials with Rajasthan Royals left a lasting impression on the team management who personally called his family to express their belief in Vaibhav’s potential to grow into a cricketing superstar.
“Some Rajasthan Royals official had called me. They said, ‘we have picked Vaibhav in Rajasthan Royals and it is now our duty to develop him into a good cricketer. Your son has impressed us during trials and we have observed a shining talent in him and we are ready to help him grow’.”
Currently competing in the Under-19 Asia Cup, Vaibhav idolizes Indian legends Yuvraj Singh
and Virender Sehwag, along with West Indies’ Brian Lara. Ever since his IPL selection came into fore, there has been several reports of Vaibhav’s age related issues.
“Today, Vaibhav is 13 years 8 months old, when he will next play India, he will have to undergo a bone test and then, the real truth will come out. You can check Vabhav’s photos on my Facebook profile named Sanjiv Suryavanshi. His body has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years but before that, he looked just like a very young boy. Vaibhav has also gone through bone test when he went on to play U-16 matches, where he was put to stand-by because of being aged less. Rest, questions about his age will keep coming but everything will become crystal clear when he will go another test when he plays for India or IPL games”
“Most importantly, Vaibhav is not bothered by age-related allegations. He’s completely focused on his game. ” Sanjeev added.
While expressing immense pride in his son’s achievements, Sanjiv also emphasized the
need for continued hard work. “Vaibhav ko abhi bohot mehnat karni hain’ (Vaibhav still has a
long way to go and must work even harder to reach his goals),” he concluded.
