After a historic campaign in the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026, young batting star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will switch from white cricket jersey to school uniform as he prepares for his Class 10 exams, taking a brief break from the limelight to embrace student life. In that match, he scored a stunning 175 to help India win the title for the sixth time.Neil Kishore, principal of Poddar International School, Samastipur, confirmed that the 14-year-old will soon establish himself on the “academic pitch” and stressed that despite his reputation in cricket, he will not receive any special treatment.
“Cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will appear for the Class 10th board exams in our school. He has received his admit card. Everyone, be it teachers, students or parents, is excited about his arrival. However, we have taken this into account as he is still a student and will be taking exams. This is an academic game, not a cricket match. We will ensure that students have no problem taking the exam. All facilities, safety and security are the same for all. The exams will begin on February 17,” Neel told ANI.Suryavanshi maintained his best form in the U19 World Cup final against England in Harare, where he smashed 175 off just 80 balls, including 15 fours and 15 sixes – the most sixes in a single innings at the U19 World Cup. He finished second with 439 runs in seven games at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.49, scoring one hundred and three fifties.He also set a new benchmark for power-hitting, hitting a record 30 sixes in the tournament, surpassing Dewald Brevis’ record of 18 sixes in the 2022 edition of the tournament, and now holds the record for most sixes in U19 World Cup history.In the U19 ODI overall, Sooryavanshi is India’s leading run-scorer with 1,412 runs in 25 innings at an average of 56.48 and a strike rate of over 165, including 4 hundreds and 7 fifties, with a highest score of 175.His meteoric rise began in October 2024 when he hit a 58-ball hundred against Australia U19s in Chennai, the fastest by an Indian batsman in junior Tests. Soon after, he made headlines at the IPL 2025 mega auction, sealing a Rs 11-crore deal with Rajasthan Royals and becoming the youngest player in the history of IPL.In an IPL match against Gujarat Titans, the 14-year-old set more records by becoming the youngest T20 centurion and the first Indian to reach the fastest 50 in IPL. He announced himself with the league’s first six sixes and ended the season scoring 252 runs in seven innings at an average of 36.00 and a staggering strike rate of 206.55, including a hundred and a fifty.His exploits continue across formats – from a 52-ball centurion, making him the youngest and fastest U19 centurion, to a 61-ball 108 in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, which made him the youngest centurion in the history of the tournament, and an 84-ball 190 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, making him the youngest A-grade centurion and the second-fastest Indian to reach this milestone.While his aggressive, high-risk style of play sometimes resulted in match-winning spells, it was equally astonishing to see the ball flying off his bat and into every corner when he clicked, as he continued to take every format by storm.
