Over the past few weeks, a question has popped up in the minds of many players, commentators and fans associated with cricket: What were we doing when we were 14?

Serious reflection may elicit a variety of interesting responses. But the brief purpose of this rhetorical query is to highlight the point that none of us was bludgeoning world-class bowlers and bringing up 35-ball centuries under the piercing gaze of vast audiences in the Indian Premier League.

Defying conventional logic

At an age when most boys, experiencing puberty and perhaps a phase of teenage rebellion, are prone to glibly conjuring up a new career path every month, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is a professional cricketer defying conventional logic in the world’s biggest T20 league. Frankly, for a large majority of us, even to dream along these lines would be beyond the realms of possibility.

In Suryavanshi’s adolescent life — let it sink in that he belongs to a generation even more nascent than Gen-Z — he has already made a habit of doing things that would be considered straight out of a fairy tale. In January 2024, at the age of just 12 years and 284 days, he made his First Class debut for Bihar against domestic giant Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy. 

Then in September-October, featuring for India U-19, the left-hander smashed a 58-ball century against Australia U-19 in a Youth Test in Chennai. It pointed to a precocious talent, but what ensued in November, during the IPL auction in Jeddah, was truly unprecedented: still 13, his cherubic face exuding blissful ignorance, he attracted a bidding war that eventually saw Rajasthan Royals cough up a whopping ₹1.1 crore.

If all this was out of the ordinary, the boy from Samastipur has endeared himself to fans even further this summer. That his bat could produce moments of Mary Poppins-induced magic became apparent after his very first ball in the IPL when he backed away and thumped Lucknow Super Giants’ Shardul Thakur for a spectacular six over extra cover. He made 34 off 20 balls, a few tears rolling down his cheeks on his dismissal being the only giveaway of his tender age.

Just two matches later, the view that this is a wonderkid poised to leave our collective jaws on the floor was fortified. Against a Gujarat Titans attack comprising six international bowlers, Suryavanshi hit a record-shattering 38-ball 101 to help RR hunt down 210 in 15.5 overs. “There is no fear. I don’t think much, I just focus on playing” was Suryavanshi’s laconic post-match remark.

He is hardwired to bashing the ball at every opportunity: he makes a back-and-across shuffle deep into his crease, keeps his front leg away from the line of the ball to create room and swings his bat at lightning speed from an extravagantly high back-lift. There’s another thing that has caught the eye of Royals coach Rahul Dravid.

“What you look for in a good young batter is how quick they are to judge length,” Dravid told the media. “That is something that has really amazed me. One thing you notice with Vaibhav is that he is very quick to pick up on anything that is fractionally short or full.”

Bringing Tendulkar to mind

Owing to the amazement aroused by a boy in his mid-teens taking on highly established bowlers, Suryavanshi has evoked comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar. The prodigy from Mumbai was a 16-year-old with a squeaky voice on India’s tour of Pakistan in 1989 when he famously dispatched the crafty Abdul Qadir for four sixes in an over in an exhibition game in Peshawar after an ODI had been abandoned. To draw further parallels between the two, of course, would be a bit of a stretch for the time being.

Tendulkar’s fabled 24-year international career was down to a combination of technique, temperament, hunger for runs and an uncompromising work ethic. “See, Sachin grew up in a different environment. He was brought up by his coach to do things with a different methodology,” former India cricketer W.V. Raman weighed in. “So that being the case, you cannot compare. Sachin was a lot more technically correct. So, it was easy for him to build on the strong basics he had.”

The arrival of a promising youngster on the scene tends to tug at the heartstrings and raise anticipation. But for every Tendulkar and Gary Sobers — the great all-rounder was 17 when he first played for West Indies — there are several cautionary tales. Of the Indians who made their Test debuts before 18 — Tendulkar, Piyush Chawla, L. Sivaramakrishnan, Parthiv Patel, Maninder Singh, Vijay Mehra and Harbhajan Singh — it is evident that only a couple fulfilled their potential.

Though quite a few of these were bowlers, is there a case to make for batters being more equipped to succeed at a younger age? Teenage spinners are generally perceived to need more time to assimilate the vagaries of their craft. In the case of fledgling pacers, a developing body not yet fully geared to the rigours of bowling fast may come in the way.

“The system will be a little apprehensive with spinners. Because they would also tend to cast their minds back to the likes of Sivaramakrishnan and Maninder. Of course, blooding them in at that age was not the issue. It was just that they did not have the right guidance once they hit a rough patch. And it has also been proven over the years that spinners mature late. A lot of factors are involved for bowlers because they need the backing of their captain,” Raman opined. 

“But for batters, once they get a few runs, the obstacles are not many. And that’s the reason why you see young batters gaining recognition sooner than bowlers.”

The mentor and the protege: Suryavanshi will benefit from working with Rahul Dravid, who will offer the wonderkid good counsel. The Rajasthan Royals coach is ‘amazed’ by how quickly the 14-year-old judges length, a sign of quality in young batters. | Photo credit: PTI

Recognition has certainly come Suryavanshi’s way very soon. But his dismissals on 0 and 4 in successive outings following his century were a reminder of the ebbs and flows that his journey will entail, and underlined the need to temper expectations.

What lies ahead

To ensure that his encounter with fame isn’t all too fleeting, a cooperative racking of brains, involving his IPL franchise, the Bihar Cricket Association and the BCCI, will be needed. The mental effects of an early exposure to the arc lights will also have to be monitored.

“He’s got to watch out on the kind of advice he heeds. Because he will go through a lot of teams. And he will have to obviously work with a lot of coaches along the way,” Raman said. “So, he has to be about five times as good as the coaches that he encounters. He has to decide what really suits his game, what really suits his temperament, and what really suits his philosophy of cricket. That is going to be the key. If he resorts to following just about everything, then he is going to be in that zone of confusion. So it will all come down to that.”

For now, Suryavanshi has a coach in Dravid at RR who will offer good counsel. As and when the IPL resumes, then, let’s just marvel at a boy hammering fours and sixes on the big stage without a care in the world. Something we weren’t doing at 14.

Cheers to chants: Although the disappointment of the suspension was evident, fans at the Ekana stadium raised patriotic slogans. | PHOTO: SANDEEP SAXENA

After the BCCI suspended the Indian Premier League in view of the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, cricket fans who had assembled for Friday’s Royal Challengers Bengaluru – Lucknow Super Giants clash at the Ekana Stadium here were left a disappointed lot.

Though all fans whom The Hindu spoke to were in agreement with the decision to cancel the matches in “national interest”, the tinge of sadness was inescapable. Supporters numbering more than 200 – mainly of RCB and Virat Kohli – had arrived from far flung places in Uttar Pradesh as early as noon, undeterred by the blistering summer sun.

“I paid ₹5000 for one ticket and wanted to watch Kohli,” said Shubham from Gorakhpur. “But I had expected something like this would happen because the points table was not updated after the Punjab Kings – Delhi Capitals match on Thursday. But it’s fine. They had no choice but to cancel. I just hope the same tickets are valid whenever the tournament restarts.”

Pavan Kumar, a local merchandise seller, had started putting up his temporary stall as early as 11.30 a.m. But that was also when news first started filtering in that the IPL could be stalled.

“I thought I would make some decent money selling Kohli shirts because he is the most popular. But now it won’t happen. I am not even sure when the tournament restarts, RCB will come and play here,” Pavan lamented.

Interestingly, Lucknow is not new to last-minute cancellation of cricket matches. In March 2020, the India versus South Africa ODI was called off owing to the onset of Covid-19.

Manoj from Prayagraj claimed that this year’s IPL could have been saved if the Punjab – Delhi match on Thursday had been cancelled well in advance and all fixtures moved to interior locations in India.

“It is not like Kohli comes to Lucknow everyday. Ever since LSG was formed, we cricket fans here have been very happy that we can watch famous players. Sadly, we can neither watch them live now nor on the TV,” he regretted.