Doubt cast on Indian cricket phenom’s age as father pledges to prove it
To say someone has taken the world by storm has become a bit of a cliché, but there is no doubt 15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi has done exactly that.
But days after he was crowned the most valuable player of the 2026 IPL, comments from a three-year-old interview have raised doubts about how old he actually is.
15-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi dominated the IPL, but questions are being raised about his real age. AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia
He belted 776 runs at an average of 48.5 with a ridiculous strike rate of 237.3. More than half of those runs – 432 in fact – came from 72 sixes.
He was also awarded the tournament’s ‘Super Striker’ for having the highest strike rate. The prize was a car he won’t legally be allowed to drive until he turns 18 in 2028.
Or at least that’s when he’ll turn 18 according to his listed date of birth.
His date of birth is officially March 27, 2011, but in a 2023 interview with BNN News Benipatti, he said he would turn 14 that September. That would make him 16, and about 18 months older than listed on his date of birth.
A nervous teenager not used to talking to media could probably be forgiven if he said he was turning a year older or younger than he actually was if he at least got the month right, but it’s a stretch to imagine he would get both wrong.
This week, renowned Australian cricket writer Gideon Haigh reported Suryavanshi, when asked an official question about his age last year, said he was 19.
“The source, whom I judge reliable, is not mine to reveal, but would have no reason to lie,” he wrote.
Suryavanshi belted 776 runs in the 2026 IPL. AP
“The result is that, right now, I am unsure quite what to think.”
Parents falsifying their kids’ ages is a common problem in Indian society – not just in cricket.
The logic is by listing a younger age, it will give them extra time to develop academically. In sport, playing against younger opponents might inflate their statistics and get them noticed by talent scouts.
To crack down on the practice, the BCCI rolled out a program where kids suspected of being older than listed are sent for bone tests to determine their age.
The tests usually involve an x-ray of the child’s hand and wrist, from which doctors determine their age by examining growth plates. Due to natural biological variations, the tests are believed to only be accurate to within a year or so of their actual age.
It means parents with other children a year or two younger than that of the player being tested would simply take the younger sibling, which would return a correct-enough result, and the cricket authorities would be none the wiser.
Comments from Suryavanshi in an old interview suggest he could be at least 16. AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia
Suryavanshi’s father Sanjiv has maintained his son’s age is accurate, and that he appeared for his first bone test when he was eight. He has called for the BCCI to order another test to put the matter to bed.
The only problem is the tests become less accurate with age.
“He has already played (for) India under-19s. We don’t fear anyone. He can again undergo an age test,” Sanjiv told PTI last year.
“My son has worked hard. At the age of eight years, he excelled at under-16 district trials.”
He became the youngest centurion in IPL history last year when he belted 101 off just 38 balls for the Royals against the Gujarat Titans. In that Titans bowling attack were Mohammed Siraj, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna and Rashid Khan – all established Test bowlers.
He also scored a 58-ball hundred in a youth Test against an Australian U19 team in 2024, when he was supposed to have just turned 13.
And in last year’s U19 World Cup, he was India’s leading run-scorer and belted an insane 175 off 80 balls in the final against England to lead his team to victory.
In this year’s tournament, he dispatched some of the best bowlers in the world – including Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Jasprit Bumrah – in the world into the stands with such ease it was as if he were playing a video game with the difficulty turned right down.
“It is a proud moment and I will try and do well next season too,” Suryavanshi said during the presentation ceremony for his player of the tournament award.
“I try to back my game, and if the ball is there to be hit, I go all out for it and just try to play that way.
“You can’t play every game in one mode, you need to read the game situation and play according to the team’s requirements. These are my learnings from this season.”
He’s clearly got the runs on the board – literally – to prove he’s good enough to be there.
So now comes the question. As far as cricket is concerned, does age matter? There’s an old saying – if you’re good enough, you’re old enough. But it also does nothing to deter parents from continuing to falsify ages.
Let’s just hope he’s indeed good enough to enjoy a long and illustrious career.
