The last time Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came face-to-face with Sri Lanka A in the Tri-Nation Series in Dambulla, the scenes were ugly. India A lost the Super Over, with Sooryavanshi at the crease, and a physical altercation followed. The cricketing world stood divided over Sooryavanshi’s attitude. He waited for the right opportunity and, hours before the final against Sri Lanka A, wrote “100” on his Instagram story.
He missed the mark by just six runs, but not before sending shivers down Sri Lanka A’s spine with a 29-ball 94. He was in full revenge mode as he laced his innings with eight sixes and 10 fours. Sooryavanshi reached the 50-run mark in just 11 balls – the fastest half-century in List A cricket – breaking Sri Lanka’s Kaushalya Weeraratne‘s 21-year-old record of a 12-ball fifty.
Opening the batting, Sooryavanshi hammered five fours and as many sixes to reach his half-century, which was also his first fifty for India A.
However, the teenage batter missed out on a record century when Sri Lanka A skipper Sahan Arachchige removed him in the ninth over for 94 off 29 balls. Sooryavanshi’s knock was laced with 10 boundaries and eight maximums.
Earlier this month, Sooryavanshi’s meteoric rise reached yet another milestone when he earned his maiden call-up to India’s T20I squad for the upcoming tours of Ireland and England, as well as the Asian Games 2026.
At the age of 15 years and 71 days, the left-handed opener became the youngest player to be picked for India’s men’s team, breaking Sachin Tendulkar‘s 36-year-old record.
Tendulkar made his India debut against Pakistan in 1989 at the age of 16 years and 205 days, making him the youngest Indian player ever to feature in a senior international cricket match. If Sooryavanshi features during the tour, he will also become the youngest player to debut for India in men’s international cricket.
Washington Sundar holds the record for being the youngest Indian to play a T20I match. He was 18 years and 80 days old when he made his debut in the format against Sri Lanka in 2017. Tendulkar is also the youngest Indian player in ODI cricket history, having made his ODI debut against Pakistan in 1989 when he was 16 years and 238 days old.
With IANS inputs