Exclusive: ‘Until he plays Tests, he isn’t a big ‘cricketer’—Sooryavanshi’s father

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smoked 15 sixes and 15 fours at a strike rate of 218.75 during a brutal and breathtaking knock in the U-19 World Cup final against England at the Harare Sports Club in Zimbabwe. Back home in his village in Bihar’s Samastipur district, his family had hardly caught any sleep, while his coach’s phone in Patna was buzzing with congratulatory messages and strange requests: “Sir, mera beta do saal ka hai, usko cricketer Vaibhav bana dijiye (My son is two years old, make him like Vaibhav).”