Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 1st Indian Cricketer To Get National Award For Children, Meets PM Narendra Modi

Before the year signed off, Indian cricket quietly made room for a new kind of headline. Vaibhav Suryavanshi, still three months away from turning 15, was honoured with the Prime Minister's National Award for Children (Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar) - the highest civilian recognition for children in the country. For a cricketer to receive it is unprecedented, placing the Bihar teenager in the same bracket of achievers as chess grandmasters R Praggnanandhaa and R Vaishali. It was fitting recognition for a year in which Suryavanshi didn't just break records-he bent timelines.

In 2025, no Indian cricketer was searched more on Google. Not Virat Kohli, not Rohit Sharma. It was the name of a school-going left-hander from Motihari that kept spiking search bars. Curiosity soon gave way to clarity-this wasn't hype chasing novelty, but performance chasing history.

The loudest statement came late in the year, in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game that didn't even have a live telecast. Suryavanshi walked in and tore into Arunachal's bowling with an innings that belonged to a different age group altogether-190 off 84 balls, struck at 226.19, with 16 fours and 15 sixes. In the process, he became the youngest player in the history of List A cricket to score a hundred, breaking a 39-year-old world record held by Pakistan's Zahoor Elahi. Praise poured in from across generations, from R Ashwin to Shikhar Dhawan, while fans did what they've done all year-searched his name again.

But this wasn't an overnight explosion. Months earlier, on April 28 in Jaipur, Suryavanshi had announced himself to the IPL in a way few debutants dare-at 14 years and 32 days old, when he scored 101 off 38 balls in a match against Gujarat Titans.

At 14, he also became the youngest player to score a T20 century, triggering memories of Chris Gayle's 30-ball carnage years earlier. Seven fours, eleven sixes, and an equal to Murali Vijay's IPL record for maximums in an innings-this was power without apology.

Even his exit carried theatre. In his final IPL innings of the season, he struck 57 off 33 against Chennai to seal a Rajasthan win. Broadcasters framed it as "Gen Bold vs Gen Gold." The poster boy was already decided.

Age records followed him everywhere. He debuted in Ranji Trophy cricket at 12 years and 284 days, becoming India's second-youngest first-class cricketer, younger than Yuvraj Singh was at debut. He signed an IPL contract worth Rs 1.1 crore at just 13, making him the youngest player ever to be bought at an auction.

And it wasn't just domestic cricket. Against Australia Under-19, he smashed 104 off 58 balls-the fastest Under-19 century by an Indian and the second-fastest globally. In back-to-back Under-19 Asia Cups, Suryavanshi was central to India's batting story: 176 runs at an average of 44 in 2024, then an audacious 144 off 42 balls against UAE in 2025, featuring a 32-ball hundred.

For all the white-ball fireworks, perhaps the most telling innings came quietly in Bihar's Under-19 Randhir Verma Tournament-an unbeaten 332. No countdown clock, no camera frenzy-just time spent at the crease. It was a reminder that beneath the viral clips is a temperament capable of marathon cricket too.

As the year ends, there's still one Vijay Hazare game left. Another chance for Suryavanshi to do something extraordinary. Given how 2025 has unfolded, it would be more surprising if he didn't.

Indian cricket has seen prodigies before. Very few have made an entire year revolve around them before they've even finished school.

PS: Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is the country's highest civilian honour for achievers aged between five and 18.