Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the 14-year-old sensation from Samastipur, Bihar, is making a name for himself as he continues to showcase his raw talent on the big stage. The big-hitting exploits of the Rajasthan Royals batter reached Doha as he just annihilated the UAE bowlers on Friday while playing for India A in the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 tournament. The left-handed batter smashed 144 off just 42 balls, laced with 15 fours and 11 sixes, as he played his innings at an astonishing strike rate of 342.86.
With Vaibhav going berserk in the middle, it seemed set that he would break Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of the highest individual score (175*) in a Men’s T20I. However, he ended up losing his wicket against the run of play to UAE’s Muhammad Farazuddin in the 13th over of the innings.
Priyank Panchal, the domestic cricket stalwart, who made a name for himself by piling on heaps of runs for Gujarat, believes Suryavanshi will be fast-tracked into the senior Indian team in the next two years as his performances are just too hard to ignore.
It is worth mentioning that Suryavanshi made a name for himself earlier this year by smashing the fastest century by an Indian in the Indian Premier League (IPL), hitting a ton for the Rajasthan Royals off just 35 balls against the Gujarat Titans.
“This is simply insane. I’ve a feel Vaibhav will be fast-tracked into the senior team within two years. Whether that’s a right call or not, only time will tell. I’ll hold back such temptations for a while. But such performances are simply too exemplary to be ignored,” Panchal wrote on X.
Suryavanshi blitz
In the Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025 fixture against the UAE, Suryavanshi brought up his century off just 32 balls, the joint-second fastest by an Indian in men’s T20S. His eventual score of 144 was also the fourth-highest for an Indian in the format.
Former India batter Shikhar Dhawan and the official handle of the BCCI also took to social media to heap praise on the young left-handed batter.
Urvil Patel for Gujarat and Abhishek Sharma for Punjab hold the record for India for the fastest century in T20S, as they brought up the milestone off 28 balls in the 2024 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant had also scored a century off 32 balls for Delhi in 2018.
The contest against the UAE saw India A posting 297/4, the joint fifth-highest team total in men’s T20S. Skipper Jitesh Sharma also hit an unbeaten 83 off 32 balls.
The total proved too much for the UAE to chase and the side were restricted to 149/7 with India A’s Gurjapneet Singh picking up three wickets for 18 in four overs.
