It was perhaps a BCCI’s U-19 one-day Challenger tournament that changed Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s cricket career. VVS Laxman was impressed with his game and selected him for U-19 quadrangular series against England and Bangladesh. On Monday night, he became the youngest player to smash a IPL hundred when he ransacked the likes of Mohammad Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Rashid Khan, and Washington Sundar.
But in one of the U19 games for India B in the series, he would break down and cry in the dressing room after getting out for 36.
It was then that VVS Laxman intervened.
“In one of the games, Vaibhav was run out for 36. So, he started crying in the dressing room. When Laxman saw this, he came to him and said, ‘We don’t only see the runs here. We see people who have the skill for the long run.’ Laxman saw his potential very quickly. The BCCI has backed him too,” his coach Manoj Ojha had told Sportstar.
Speaking to , the coach had spoken about his desire to take Vaibhav out of Bihar for the sake of his career.
“Bihar is not ideal for aspiring cricketers. No one cares. The BCCI has stopped caring about it as well. It’s becoming increasingly difficult with each passing day,” Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s coach Manoj Ojha had told this newspaper.
“As a coach, I want him to leave Bihar immediately to play for another state. I want top Ranji teams to offer him a chance, and he must accept it. He should play for a state where he can be nurtured and where he would be well-supported.”
The Indian Express had reported how it was Laxman who recommended Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s name to ’ head coach .
Dravid took him under his wings and took his time to give him a game in this .
“He is training really well, and he looks like a really good and exciting talent but there are other equally good players as well and part of our responsibility is to groom him well, give him a little bit of time in the environment, let him get used to it and practice with the players, let him get a feel of the environment, all these are great experiences for him, rather than putting him straight in front of the crowd so it’s a part of the process we follow in grooming a player and if an opportunity arises we won’t be scared to play him if it is required,” he had said on March 30th.
On Monday night he repaid that trust with a world record.
