Patna, May 30 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi met IPL sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi and his family at Patna airport on Friday. The PM interacted with the cricketer and his parents before leaving the venue.

PM Modi is on a two-day visit to Bihar, from Thursday to Friday. He inaugurated the new terminal building of Patna Airport on Thursday. He will inaugurate and lay the foundation stone for infrastructure and welfare projects worth approximately Rs 48,500 crore on Friday.

Sharing the glimpses of the meeting on his X account, PM Modi wrote, “At Patna airport, met the young cricketing sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi and his family. His cricketing skills are being admired all over the nation! My best wishes to him for his future endeavours.”

Suryavanshi made the headlines after becoming the youngest centurion in the IPL at just 14. He was roped in by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore in last year’s auction. In seven matches, the teenager has amassed 252 runs, including a hundred and a half-century.

His performances led to his inclusion in India’s U19 squad for the upcoming tour of England, scheduled from June 24 to July 23. The tour comprises a 50-over warm-up match, followed by a five-match Youth One-Day series and two Multi-Day matches against England U19.

Earlier, PM Modi lauded Suryavanshi for his stellar performance in the IPL 2025 season during the inauguration of the Khelo India Youth Games this month.

“We all have seen the outstanding performance of the son of Bihar, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, in the IPL. Vaibhav has created such a big record at this young age. Behind his game, there is of course a lot of his hard work but playing matches at different levels has also helped him. This means ‘jo jitna khelega, wo utna khilega (whoever plays more, will shine more),” said Modi in his speech that declared open the 2025 Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG) in Bihar on May 4.

Suryavanshi’s story is one that is unprecedented. At just 14 years of age, he became the youngest player to play in the Indian Premier League. In just his third game, Suryavanshi completely stole the show at Sawai Mansingh Stadium as he became the youngest player to score a century in the history of the tournament in 35-ball against Gujarat Titans, also marking the fastest century by an Indian, surpassing Yusuf Pathan’s record of 37 deliveries.

The teenager made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024, at just 12 years and 284 days old. During his debut, Suryavanshi scored 71 off 42 balls against Baroda in the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024-25, becoming the youngest Indian to score a List-A fifty.

On the international stage, Suryavanshi set the record for the fastest youth Test century by an Indian, scoring a blazing 58-ball ton against Australia in Chennai. He also played a pivotal role in India’s run to the ACC U19 Asia Cup final, contributing two crucial half-centuries.

–IANS

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