New Delhi, Dec 26 (IANS) President of India Droupadi Murmu on Friday conferred on India’s 14-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi for his exploits in the field of cricket.

The President conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on children for their exceptional achievements in the fields of Bravery, Social Service, Environment, Sports, Art & Culture and Science & Technology at a ceremony held in the national capital.

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is India’s highest civilian honour for individuals aged five to 18, instituted to recognise exceptional achievements across diverse fields like art and culture, innovation, science and technology, social service, sports and instances of bravery.

Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the recipients of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar and said, “Vaibhav Suryavanshi has made a name for himself in the highly competitive and talent-filled world of cricket and has set many records.”

The teenager is also slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day. Following the ceremony in Delhi, he will rejoin the India Under-19 squad and travel to Zimbabwe for preparations ahead of the Under-19 World Cup, which begins from January 15.

The BCCI also congratulated the youngster for his achievement. “Congratulations to our explosive young batter, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, on being conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar by the Honourable President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmuji,” it posted on X.

Earlier this week, Suryavanshi smashed 190 off 84 balls against Arunachal Pradesh at the Vijay Hazare Trophy, becoming the youngest centurion in List A history. The knock also broke AB de Villiers’ record for the fastest 150 in List A cricket and his 15 sixes in the innings are the most by any Indian in the 50-over format.

Earlier this month, Suryavanshi smashed an unbeaten century for Bihar against Maharashtra in an Elite Group B Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2025 match at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

He scored an unbeaten 108 off 61 balls, his maiden ton in the T20 domestic cricket tournament and third overall in the format. His century also made him the youngest batter to score a century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, at 14 years and 250 days.

The 14-year-old cricketer also smashed the record for the highest score by an Indian in U19 Asia Cup history with his 171 off just 95 against the UAE.

The explosive southpaw also slammed a ton against the Australia U19 team in Brisbane during a Youth Test match in November. His most recent jaw-dropping innings came in the Rising Stars Asia Cup, where he scored 144 off 42 balls for India A against UAE, smashing 11 fours and 15 sixes.

His 32-ball hundred made him the youngest man to score a century for any national representative side at senior level, breaking a 20-year-old record.

Suryvanshi was the most-searched Indian on Google and ranked sixth overall worldwide. Last month, social media platform Instagram chose to spotlight Suryavanshi’s journey on its official page – making him only the second Indian cricketer after Virat Kohli to receive the honour.

The teenage batter, hailing from Bihar, enjoyed a breakout IPL debut season with the Rajasthan Royals and made history as the youngest-ever player in the tournament at just 14 years and 23 days, debuting against the Lucknow Super Giants.

He then stunned everyone nine days later by becoming the youngest centurion in the league’s history. Vaibhav’s explosive 35-ball 100 against the Gujarat Titans was the fastest IPL century by an Indian and the second-fastest overall, behind only Chris Gayle.

–IANS

bc/