Vaibhav Suryavanshi builds his own fan following in England

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the teenager who caught the national imagination during IPL 2025 with his 35-ball century, now looks to raise the bar on the ongoing tour of England with the India U19 team. An aggregate of 355 runs in a five-match ODI series, including the highest personal individual score of 143, has already made him a fan favourite among the Indian diaspora.

The 14-year-old from Bihar, who was spotted soaking in the action during Shubman Gill’s epic 269 at Edgbaston, will be facing a severe test of character when the first of the two Youth Tests against England gets underway from Saturday, 12 July. The U19 team, led by Ayush Mhatre, won the five-match series 3-2 against the hosts.

A social media post from Vaibhav’s IPL team Rajasthan Royals, which went viral on Thursday, says two girls of the same age as the batter — Aanya and Rivaa — were driven for six hours to Worcester, the venue of the fourth and fifth ODIs, for just a glimpse of him. The two young girls, sporting the Royals pink, accomplished their mission when they were photographed with the batter.

‘’Proof why we have the best fans. Drove for 6 hours to Worcester. Wore their Pink. Cheered for Vaibhav & Team India. Aanya and Rivaa, as old as Vaibhav himself, had a day to remember,’’ Rajasthan Royals posted on their X handle.

Vaibhav averaged 71 (only behind Thomas Rew, who remained  not out twice) and had a strike rate of 174.02, rather uncommon for a 50-over contest but then that has been the style of the teen sensation. He slammed 30 fours and also 29 sixes, one more than the combined tally of the next six highest scorers in the series.

There were four centuries in the series but Suryavanshi recorded the fastest, off just 52 balls — shattering Pakistan youngster Qasim Akram’s record of one off 62 balls in 2022.

After the match, he spoke about how he drew inspiration from Shubman’s double century. “I didn’t know I had a record,’’ Suryavanshi told BCCI.tv. “Team manager Ankit sir told me I had… I was very inspired by him (Shubman Gill) because I saw the game. Even after scoring 100 and 200, he kept at it and took the game forward. So, I also had it in mind that I could have batted for longer because there was a lot of time, 20 overs were left.

‘’I could have extended my innings but there was a shot that I couldn’t connect 100% which is why I got out, otherwise I would have tried to bat as long as him. There won’t be any extra celebrations, I’ll just be happier for doing something good for the team. I will speak to my family and friends and try to score 200 next time,’’ he added.