13-YEAR-OLD SENSATION IN BIG LEAGUE OF IPL

At an age when most children are confused between pursuing studies with earnestness and following other more recreational vocations, this 13-year-old had been chasing his dream, with a willow in his hand and wild ambition in his heart.

- Firoz Mirza

Barely in his teens, the youngster has shown glimpses of prodigious talent. Scoring runs has been his vocation, hitting fours and sixes his passion.

As fate would have it, Vaibhav Suryavanshi has just landed ₹1.1 crore during the Indian Premier League mega auction this week. If anyone thought earning a crore at 13 is not possible, he has shown there are such astounding aberrations. Life for him has changed. The boyish innocence and adolescent maturity will be tested more intensely than ever before.

Days after creating history at the IPL mega auction, all eyes were on Vaibhav when India took on arch-rivals Pakistan in the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai on Saturday. The left-hand batter, who wants to model himself around the great Brian Lara, might have got out for one in his debut match, which his team eventually lost by 43 runs. Yet, in the process, he has created another record.

The batter who bowls slow left-arm orthodox became the youngest Indian cricketer to play for India U19 team. At 13 years and 248 days, he broke the record of leggie Piyush Chawla, who made his India U19 debut at 14 years and 311 days.