Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes the youngest Indian cricketer to play international cricket surpassing legend Sachin Tendulkar
Sooryavanshi was just 15 years and 99 days old when he achieved took the field for India
Sooryavanshi joins the rare company of teenage trailblazers including Aaqib Javed, Hasan Raza, Mohamad Sharif and Mushtaq Mohammad
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the new wonder boy of world cricket, made his international debut for India at the age of 15 years and 99 days against England at Old Trafford on Saturday, July 5.
At an age when most teenagers are occupied with board exams, outings with friends, or planning movie dates, Sooryavanshi finds himself facing bowlers such as Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue, dispatching them to the boundary with remarkable ease.
The talent that young Sooryavanshi possesses at such an early age is rare, and the attention he has attracted from around the world is equally extraordinary.
Yet that is the beauty of sport — it constantly evolves and occasionally delivers prodigious talents who leave fans in awe of their gifts. Sooryavanshi now joins a list of teenage sensations who burst onto the international stage, and in some cases faded away just as quickly. Let's take a look at those players.
Hasan Raza - Pakistan (14 years, 227 days)
Hasan Raza is arguably the youngest player from a full-member nation to have featured in international cricket. He was said to be 14 years and 227 days old when he made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe in October 1996, scoring 27 runs off 48 balls in his first appearance.
However, claims surrounding his status as the youngest international player could never be conclusively verified, which is why the PCB later stopped officially presenting him as such. Raza was soon dropped from the side and, although he earned a recall in 2002, he once again struggled to translate his domestic success onto the international stage.
Mohammad Sharif - Bangladesh (15 years, 116 days)
Mohammad Sharif featured for Bangladesh when he was just 15 years, 116 days old, on the back of an impressive show in the National League. He was one of the rare talents in the Bangladesh cricketing setup who could bowl reverse swing, one of the reasons why he was fast-tracked into the national side. He delivered an opening spell of 31/1 in 10 overs in his first match against Zimbabwe.
His international performance could not live up to the hype he garnered around his debut. On top of that, frequent injury layoffs didn't help his case, and he could only play 19 international matches over a span of six years before fading away completely.
Mushtaq Mohammad - Pakistan (15 years, 125 days)
Famous Pakistani all-rounder, Mushtaq Mohammad, who migrated from India to Pakistan, was one of the five famous Mohammad brothers, who made their debut at the age of 15 against the West Indies in Lahore. His debut turned out to be mild as his leg spin could get him any wicket and he could only manage to score 18 runs in both innings.
However, it was just a minor blip in his famous career as he trailblazed the reverse-sweep shot and eventually ended up playing 57 Tests and captaining in 19 of them. He scored 3643 runs and took 79 wickets during his career. He has a highly celebrated county career for Northamptonshire, where he scored 31,091 runs and picked up 93 wickets.
Aaqib Javed - Pakistan (16 years, 127 days)
Pakistani fast bowle, Aaqib Javed made his debut against the West Indies at the age of 16 and delivered a decent spell of 1 for 49 in a match where Desmond Haynes dismantled Pakistani bowlers with a magnificent century. He adapted himself to the demands of international cricket and carved a name for himself as a proponent of reverse swing.
The highlights of his career proved to be the 7 wickets for 37 runs against India in 1991, which stood as the men's record for most wickets in an ODI for almost a decade. Aaqib took the hat-trick in that match, dismissing the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Ravi Shastri, and Mohammad Azharuddin.
Though his career could never really take off as he always remained in the shadows of the greatness of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, and Shoaib Akhtar, he still was able to play 163 ODIs for Pakistan, which in itself is a really big deal.
Sachin Tendulkar - India (16years 205days)
Sachin Tendulkar is the person whom Vaibhav Suryavanshi surpassed to become the youngest men's cricketer to make an international debut for India. Tendulkar made his debut at the age of 16 in Karachi against a lethal Pakistani pace attack, including Waqar Younis and Wasim Akram.
Tendulkar scored just 15 runs off 24 balls and didn't get fazed by the sheer pace and magnitude of the match. What happened later with Tendulkar in that tour when he got hit by a short ball on his nose and started bleeding? However, Tendulkar persisted and scored a valiant fifty to announce himself among the big boys and the rest in history.
