Vijay Hazare Trophy: Why 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi missed Bihar’s match against Manipur

At just 14, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s cricketing journey has taken an extraordinary turn — from rewriting domestic records to being honoured on India’s biggest civilian stage for children. The Bihar batting prodigy is not part of his state’s Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture on Friday, not due to injury or loss of form, but because he is in New Delhi to receive the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, India’s highest civilian award for youngsters.

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Sooryavanshi arrived in the capital on Wednesday and is set to be conferred the prestigious honour at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Droupadi Murmu will felicitate the awardees. The occasion will be followed by an interaction with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a rare and inspiring moment for a teenager still at the start of his cricketing life.



The award explains his absence from Bihar’s ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign. According to his childhood coach Manish Ojha, Sooryavanshi had to report early in the morning for the ceremony, making him unavailable for Friday’s match and the remainder of the tournament. While missing competitive games is never easy for a young athlete, the national recognition represents a milestone few sportspersons experience so early in their careers.

Sooryavanshi’s selection for the Bal Puraskar comes on the back of a jaw-dropping performance that stunned the domestic circuit. In Bihar’s opening Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Arunachal Pradesh, the left-hander smashed 190 off just 84 balls, laced with 16 fours and 15 sixes. He reached his century in only 36 balls, becoming the youngest centurion in List A cricket, and powered Bihar to a world-record 574/6 in 50 overs.


The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is awarded annually to children aged 5–18 for exceptional achievements across fields such as sports, bravery, innovation, science and social service. For Sooryavanshi, it recognises not just one innings, but a body of promise that has marked him out as a rare talent.

Following the ceremony, the teenager is expected to join the India Under-19 squad, with preparations underway for the upcoming U-19 World Cup in Zimbabwe starting January 15.


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