SMELLS LIKE TEEN SPIRIT: PRODIGIES, PRODIGALS AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN

Just 14, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has dropped jaws with his ability to destroy established bowlers on the big stage.

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But — as cautionary tales from the past attest — the life of a wonderkid isn’t straightforward. The left-hander must be supported with sensitive, intelligent guidance to give him every opportunity of fulfilling his potential

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.