Vaibhav Suryavanshi: Will heir to Tendulkar like to be beside the seaside?

There is a video that has emerged recently of Vaibhav Suryavanshi.

It is far from the only one; scoring the second fastest Indian Premier League hundred days after your 14th birthday has the tendency to act as lighter fluid to a sport-mad country’s raging cricketing inferno. Hence the unearthing of countless recordings taken along the way. But this particular 17-second clip catches the eye.

It dates back to Covid lockdown, some time in 2021, when Suryavanshi was just 10. Unable to take part in his usual practices, he ­relocated to a rooftop to perfect his drives against stationary balls ­on cones. On-drive, straight drive, off-drive. One, two, three.

Each one performed with military precision, foot ­striding towards the ball, weight forward, head balanced and a straight blade arcing down before immaculate ­contact. Flawless. Aged 10.

A lot has been said about ­cricket’s next great hope since he blasted his 35-ball IPL century for Rajasthan Royals at the back end of April.

Comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar – a Test cricketer at 16 – were instant, hastily followed by warnings to allow a young adolescent to develop ­naturally. But barely a day goes by without a ­family member, former coach or cricket ­pundit having their say on India’s new batting prodigy.

So it may be a relief to escape to the pleasant ­environs of Hove’s deckchairs on Tuesday. As part of India’s Under-19 squad, Suryavanshi will spend much of this summer in England, touring the low-key sights of Northampton, Worcester, Beckenham and Chelmsford across five one-day ­internationals and two Tests.

Although his first time on these shores, Suryavanshi has already racked up notable experience in India’s age-group ranks. A little under two years ago, aged just 12, he hit a half-century for India B Under-19s in his first outing against England. Ten months later, on his official India Under-19 debut, he scored a 58-ball century in a Test against Australia.

Tendulkar analogies are unavoidable. The Little Master registered hundreds on his debuts in all three of India’s main domestic tournaments of the late 1980s, became India’s youngest ever player and, in 1990 at Old Trafford aged 17, the second-youngest batter to score a Test century.

“[Suryavanshi’s] innings against us [Gujarat Titans], a 35-ball ­hundred, was just outrageous,” said former England captain Jos Buttler last week on his For The Love Of Cricket podcast.

“He played an innings against Chennai Super Kings a couple of matches later, and I was watching on TV. At that moment, I thought this guy was the best player I’ve ever seen. I was so blown away.”

Such proclamations only raise expectations. Perhaps this boy genius will emulate Tendulkar as one of the greatest. Or maybe he will join the pantheon of sporting wunderkinds whose flame is extinguished too early. The Sussex seaside is a charming place to make an assessment.

Photograph by: Pankaj Nangia/Getty