'Suryavanshi's father speaks out on son's IPL selection and age allegations: Vaibhav remains unfazed'

Vaibhav Suryavanshi's father remains steadfast in his support for his son, despite the age-fraud allegations surrounding the young cricketer. The 13-year-old from Bihar is determined to pursue his dream of representing the senior national team, and his father is fully behind him. Recently, Vaibhav made history by becoming the youngest Indian to score an international century, and he has now secured an Indian Premier League contract with Rajasthan Royals for a whopping Rs 1.10 crore. The young prodigy from Samastipur is making waves in the cricketing world, and his father is determined to see him succeed.

In an exclusive conversation with India.com, his father, Sanjiv Suryavanshi, spoke about Vaibhav’s journey, challenges, and ambitions. “His dream is to play for India in the next few years, and we believe he can achieve it,” Sanjiv shared proudly. As Sanjiv puts it, “He has the talent, focus, and the will to succeed, and we’re excited to see what the future holds”.

Known for his attacking style of play, Vaibhav has quickly gained attention in cricketing circles. His performances against Australia A recently and during trials with Rajasthan Royals left a lasting impression on the team management who personally called his family to express their belief in Vaibhav’s potential to grow into a cricketing superstar.

“Some Rajasthan Royals official had called me. They said, ‘we have picked Vaibhav in Rajasthan Royals and it is now our duty to develop him into a good cricketer. Your son has impressed us during trials and we have observed a shining talent in him and we are ready to help him grow’.”

Currently competing in the Under-19 Asia Cup, Vaibhav idolizes Indian legends Yuvraj Singh
and Virender Sehwag, along with West Indies’ Brian Lara. Ever since his IPL selection came into fore, there has been several reports of Vaibhav’s age related issues.

“Today, Vaibhav is 13 years 8 months old, when he will next play India, he will have to undergo a bone test and then, the real truth will come out. You can check Vabhav’s photos on my Facebook profile named Sanjiv Suryavanshi. His body has grown by leaps and bounds in the last few years but before that, he looked just like a very young boy. Vaibhav has also gone through bone test when he went on to play U-16 matches, where he was put to stand-by because of being aged less. Rest, questions about his age will keep coming but everything will become crystal clear when he will go another test when he plays for India or IPL games”

“Most importantly, Vaibhav is not bothered by age-related allegations. He’s completely focused on his game. ” Sanjeev added.

While expressing immense pride in his son’s achievements, Sanjiv also emphasized the
need for continued hard work. “Vaibhav ko abhi bohot mehnat karni hain’ (Vaibhav still has a
long way to go and must work even harder to reach his goals),” he concluded.