As Suryavanshi cuts a slice of history for himself, fans look to the future  Premium

14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi's remarkable century sparks excitement and speculation about his future in cricket.

For half a century, Samastipur in Bihar was best known for the bomb blast that killed India’s then Railway minister. Now a 14-year-old, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, is likely to replace that image. If all goes well, Samastipur will be better known as the birthplace of one of the most remarkable batters to burst into the national consciousness as a teenager.

There is something about six-hitting that immediately focusses attention on a player, guarantees an eager following and fills stadiums. C K Nayudu’s 11 sixes against the MCC hastened India’s Test debut; in the 1970s, a 19-year-old Dilip Vengsarkar hit seven sixes off Bishan Bedi and Erapalli Prasanna in the Irani Trophy to announce his arrival, and on his first tour, Sachin Tendulkar hit Abdul Qadir for four sixes in an over and never looked back.

Say what you want about modern bats, shorter boundaries, fielding and bowling restrictions and good wickets in T20, but for a 14-year-old to hit 11 sixes in a 35-ball century against a top bowling attack is astounding. He mis-hit a couple, which is the modern way, but he also deposited a couple on the roof of the stadium. He has the quality the best have — balance. It enabled him to drive fast bowler Prasidh Krishna over long off in the shot of the day, perhaps of the tournament.

Balance, timing, ball sense, confidence (and luck!) — the abstract elements — already exist in Suryavanshi’s game. The rest is a matter of technique and practice. He seems to be a quick learner; uncertainty against the short delivery in earlier games was replaced by an eagerness to smash it out of the ground. Hesitation against spin is making way for decisiveness. Getting down low against spin to cart it over square leg is paying dividends. He played Rashid Khan with respect — but still hit him for a six and a superb straight drive. His jersey flapping in the wind exposing his navel and confirming the puppy fat — all those jalebis, his favourite, must settle somewhere — is a unique sight.

The riches of the game, three formats, wealth, renown, await Suryavanshi. The pressure has just begun. The national selectors must get their timing right. Pick him too early and it might lead to regrets. Too late might snuff out the fire. He has pushed himself into the conversation, though.

The IPL has seen three significant, even great centuries: Brendon McCullum’s 158 in the inaugural match in 2008, Chris Gayle’s 175 in 2013 and now this. The first two were by established players. Each was made by the quintessential IPL batter of his time. Suryavanshi’s century was state-of-the-art batting in the format. Ishant Sharma (199 international matches, 434 wickets) was twice sent into the crowd past midwicket, but he induced one of the many false strokes. By showing the full face of the bat to a slower delivery, Suryavanshi saved himself.

We have to constantly remind ourselves Suryavanshi is only 14, just as in Pakistan all those years ago, we in the media box had to remind ourselves that Tendulkar was only 16. The jokes you now hear were rolled out then. That he was too young to play ODIs because the match went beyond his bed-time; that he needed a letter from his parents to be allowed to fly, and so on. The only new one is that Suryavanshi’s partner needed to cover his eyes every time the cheerleaders went into their act.