Batting on "academic pitch": Vaibhav Suryavanshi set to appear in 10th class board exams; return to normal student life post U19 WC glory

Samastipur (Bihar) [India], February 13 : Following his all-timer ICC Under-19 World Cup 2026 tournament where his explosive 175 guided young Indian team to their sixth title, rising Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi is all set to give his 10th class board examinations and live the normal life of a student, stepping away from the glitz and glamour of the cricketing world.
Neel Kishore, the principal of Podar International School, Samastipur, confirmed the star cricketer's entry to the "academic pitch" and emphasised that the 14-year-old will not receive any preferential treatement and that facilities will remain the same.
"Cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will appear for the Class 10th board exams at our school. He has received his admit card. There is excitement among everyone, be it teachers, students or parents, for his arrival. However, we have made arrangements with that in mind, as he is still a student and will be appearing for his examination. This is an academic pitch, not a cricket pitch. We will ensure students have no issues taking the exams. All the facilities, safety, and security will be the same for all. Exams will start on February 17," said Neel to ANI.
Suryavanshi had a triple treat in store for himself with the knock he played against England in the final at Harare, scoring 175 in just 80 balls, with 15 fours and 15 sixes, the most by a batter in a single U19 WC innings.
He ended up as the second-highest run-getter with 439 runs in seven matches at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.49, with a century and three fifties and a best score of 175. He smacked a record-breaking 30 sixes in the competition, surpassing South Africa's Dewald Brevis' 18 sixes in the 2022 edition by miles. In fact, he holds the record for the most sixes in U19 WC history.
He is also India's leading run-getter in U19 ODIs, with 1,412 runs in 25 innings at 56.48, a strike rate over 165, four centuries, seven fifties, and a best score of 175.
Since October 2024, it has been onwards and upwards for this southpaw, as he first made it to the headlines with a 58-ball century for India U19 against Australia U19 in Chennai, the fastest by an India U19 batter in Youth Tests.
During the IPL mega auction ahead of the 2025 season, he secured a deal worth Rs 1.1 crore with Rajasthan Royals, making him the youngest IPL player ever. In the IPL clash against the Gujarat Titans, at the age of 14, Suryavanshi became the youngest T20 centurion and the first Indian to hit the fastest IPL fifty.
Starting off his IPL journey with a first-ball six, he became one of the young, emerging stars of the season, with 252 runs in seven innings at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 206.55, with a century and fifty.
After that, it has been recorded following Suryavanshi wherever he goes. Whether it is his 52-ball century against July last year, making him the youngest and fastest U19 centurion of all time, his 61-ball 108 against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) season last year which made him the youngest centurion in the tournament history or his 84-ball 190 against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT), making him the youngest List A centurion and second-fastest List A centurion amongst Indians last year, Suryavanshi has taken every format by storm one by one.
While his high-risk, high-reward style makes him prone to plenty of off-days, it is just as gliterring and box-office when the ball comes nicely on his bat and sails in multiple directions for fours and sixes when destiny writes for him something big.