Batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi makes global U-19 captaincy history

Vaibhav Suryavanshi may not have set the scoreboard alight in his first match as captain, but the young batting sensation still walked into cricketing history on Saturday. Leading India Under-19 in the opening Youth ODI against South Africa Under-19 at Willowmoore Park, Benoni, the 14-year-old achieved a feat no one before him had managed.

Suryavanshi, who scored 11 from 12 balls in the match, became the youngest player ever to captain a team in Youth One-Day International cricket. In fact, he broke new ground by becoming the first cricketer to lead a side in any international Under-19 match before the age of 16, eclipsing a record held by Pakistan’s Ahmed Shehzad for nearly two decades.

The young left-hander was entrusted with leadership duties for the three-match series after regular captain Ayush Mhatre and vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra were ruled out with injuries. Both players are expected to return in time for the ICC Under-19 World Cup, which begins on January 15 and will be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Suryavanshi’s rise has been nothing short of remarkable. He recently stunned the domestic circuit during the Vijay Hazare Trophy with a breathtaking display of power-hitting. Playing for Bihar against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi, he blasted a 36-ball century before going on to score a sensational 190 off just 84 deliveries, an innings packed with 16 boundaries and 15 towering sixes. Bihar went on to secure a crushing 397-run win in that contest.

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That explosive knock also rewrote record books. Suryavanshi bettered AB de Villiers’ long-standing mark for the fastest 150 in List A cricket, reaching the milestone 10 balls quicker. His 15 sixes in a single innings is the most by an Indian batter in the format.

Such performances have fast-tracked his rise in Indian cricket. Ahead of the 2025–26 season, Suryavanshi was named vice-captain of Bihar for the opening two rounds of the Ranji Trophy. Beyond the cricket field, his achievements have also earned national recognition, as he was recently honoured with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan - India’s highest civilian award for children.