Former Chennai Super Kings star Suresh Raina has predicted that Rajasthan Royals' young batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi will soon make it to India's T20I team. Speaking on Shubhankar Mishra's YouTube channel on Friday, August 29, Raina praised 14-year-old Suryavanshi's fearless approach and recent performances in both the IPL and youth cricket, comparing him to established players like Rishabh Pant and Rinku Singh.
Suryavanshi demonstrated his batting prowess in IPL 2025, winning the Super Striker of the Season award with 252 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 206.55. His century against Gujarat Titans, scoring 101 off 38 balls, came against a strong bowling lineup featuring Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, and Rashid Khan.
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The Bihar-born cricketer continued his impressive form in youth cricket, scoring 143 off 78 balls against England's U19 team in Worcester. He emerged as the leading run-scorer in the five-match series with 355 runs at an average of 71.
"Vaibhav Suryavanshi. His fearless approach is different. Mhatre is also good, but Vaibhav has X-factor; such talents are rare. He recently scored a ton in England and scored a century in the IPL. It shows this player from Bihar proves – ek Bihari sab pe bhari (One from Bihar is heavier than all)… Nobody knew Samastipur… A player from a village showed his potential."
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"There was a coach from Bihar who told me that he looked after him. Such players come once in a century, whether it's Rishabh Pant, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, or Rinku Singh… Ayush Mhtare, at the age of 17, right from the very first match [for CSK], whatever he has done [has been impressive]."
Raina also highlighted the performances of Ayush Mhatre, who scored 240 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 188.97 for Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025. Mhatre recently impressed in youth Tests against England's U19 team, scoring centuries in Beckenham and Chelmsford.
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