Are we already the Vaibhav Suryavanshi effect? Just a few months ago, the world saw the 14-year-old take down international bowlers. Having already become the youngest-ever debutant in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by a long distance, Suryavanshi created cricket history by becoming the youngest T20 centurion.
Another Bihar cricket wonderkid
The whole cricketing community was in awe. Coming from Bihar, a state that hasn’t produced many great cricketers, Suryavanshi might have already had an everlasting impact. Ayan Raj, a childhood friend of Suryavanshi, already sees him as an inspiration.
Just a year younger than the talented southpaw, 13-year-old Ayan just scored an unbeaten triple hundred in the District Cricket League. In a 30-over match held in Muzaffarpur, Ayan, while representing Sanskriti Cricket Academy, scored 327 runs off just 134 balls.
Ayan struck 63 boundaries (41 fours and 22 sixes) and ended his knock with a strike rate of 244.02. Nearly 90% of his total runs came in the form of boundaries, 296 of 327. The emergence of T20 cricket has been inspiring youngsters to play aggressive cricket but having someone to look up to helps.
Ayan Raj following Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s footsteps
Recently, Sai Sudharsan expressed how Washington Sundar is his inspiration. Both cricketers hail from Tamil Nadu and although Sundar is just 2 years older, he made his Indian debut in 2017. Sudharsan was inspired to make his debut as well, watching someone so young from his state succeed. Ayan’s thought process seems the same. Just a year younger, he says he’s following Suryavanshi’s footsteps.
“Every time I talk to Vaibhav Bhai, I get a special feeling. We used to play together when we were younger. Today, he has made a big name for himself, and I’m also following in his footsteps,” he said.
