At 14 years old, Vaibhav became the youngest centurion in all of men’s T20 history
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is the name presently making the rounds on the internet. The 14-year-old scripted history on the evening of April 28 in the Indian Premier League (IPL) by hitting 101 runs off 38 balls. By doing so, he became IPL’s youngest century hitter and scripted the tourney’s second-fastest century.
The phenomenal batting by Suryavanshi has once again put the IPL under the limelight for being a tournament that has constantly proved to be an ideal platform for youngsters who have gone on to make a name for themselves in international cricket.
This occasion allows us to compare the IPL with some of the other top domestic T20 leagues in the world and look at the youngest centurions in those leagues.
The Big Bash League in Australia had its youngest century hitter in the 2016-2017 season. Benjamin Reginald McDermott, a player who isn’t known to many, scored 114 runs off 52 balls while playing for Hobart Hurricanes. The rival team, the Melbourne Renegades, had posted a target of 222 runs, which back then was BBL’s highest score by a team. McDermott hit the century when he was 22 years old, and his innings at the time was BBL’s second-highest individual score.
In the Caribbean Premier League, Shimron Hetmyer became the youngest centurion in 2018. He scored 100 runs off 49 balls for Amazon Warriors against Jamaica Tallawahs. He was only 21 years old when he hit the youngest century in the CPL. For the record, in the IPL, Shimron plays for the Rajasthan Royals and is in the dugout watching Suryanshi scripting history.
Moving on to South Africa’s SA20, the youngest centurion of the tournament is Jordan Hermann. Last year, he scored 106 runs in 106 balls while playing for Eastern Cape vs MI Cape Town. He was 22 years old last year. His maiden T20 century earned praise from South African legend AB de Villiers.
In PSL, the record for the youngest centurion is held by Harry Brook. In 2022, Brook scored 102 runs off 49 balls at a strike rate of 208.16. His knock came against Islamabad United while playing for Lahore Qalandars. Brook was 22 years old when he hit the mentioned century.
The above comparison shows that among many young talents in the world of cricket, Suryavanshi is way ahead with his batting skills. Yes, there have been questions about the IPL’s bowling quality compared to its batting quality, but one cannot take away the fact that a 14-year-old faced some of the best bowlers during his spree of fours and sixes.
