This story kid of reminds me of Max Verstappen starting in Formula One at 17 years of age. If you are good enough then you are old enough and age should play no part.
This evening in the India Premier League (IPL) a 14 year old boy by the name of Vaibhav Suryavansh smashed a century of only 35 balls. An amazing feat considering the ICC as a rule requiring players to be older than 15 years of age. The IPL has an exemption from that ruling as long as franchises use common sense on player readiness.
Having such a young talent this good is very rare and some might say this is generational. I would not jump to any conclusions just yet ad go that far as it is too soon to see if he has any weaknesses that teams could exploit. In the past batsmen have been found out so time will tell if he is the genuine article, but the signs are definitely promising thus far.
When the IPL was first started the aim was all about unearthing new talent that may mot necessarily be given the opportunities to shine and be noticed. Currently the 10 IPL teams are made up of 25 players with 17 being locals and 8 being overseas players. That is a potential pool of 170 players for the Indian selectors to choose their National team.
The Indian Cricket Board have created a league that will enhance and strengthen their international team and having a 14 year old pop out coming from nowhere is simply amazing. This would never happen in any other country and what is wrong with the system. We see 18 and 19 year old's getting their chance but wen last did we see a 15 or 16 year old let alone a 14 year old. If you are good enough then you are old enough as you cannot hold back natural talent.
The youngest player to play international cricket is Sachin Tendulkar who at the age of 16 made his debut against Pakistan in 1989. He went on to play for the next 24 years retiring at the ripe old age of 40. Will the Indian selectors be tempted to throw Vaibhav Suryavansh into their team when he turns 15 because I think he is definitely good enough. Indian cricket most definitely has a new star on their hands and this kid has such a bright future not only in cricket terms, but financially as well.
Cricket in India is like a religion as it removes classes opening up to all faiths and backgrounds. If you can make it playing cricket in India you are set for life. Rs 1.1 crore is what Vaibhav Suryavansh is being paid for 6 weeks work which is roughly $130k and now that he has proved his worth his stock value has risen considerably and expect this to be closer to 10 x next season. Just on a marketing value alone having a fresh young face he is marketable to all generations old and new.