Vaibhav Suryavanshi receives PM Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, to miss rest of Vijay Hazare Trophy

Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi was honoured with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar on Friday. The 14-year-old received the award at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where President Droupadi Murmu presented him with a medal for his outstanding achievements in the sport.

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is India’s highest civilian award for children between the ages of 5 and 18. It is given every year to honour exceptional performances in fields such as bravery, art and culture, environment, innovation, science and technology, social service and sports.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi to miss the rest of VHT

However, the honour also meant that Suryavanshi missed Bihar’s ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy match against Manipur. Suryavanshi will miss the remainder of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy despite producing a record-breaking knock earlier this week. The 14-year-old left-hander, who is also the vice-captain of his team, smashed a stunning 190.

After the ceremony in Delhi, Suryavanshi is expected to join the India Under-19 squad for a conditioning camp in Bengaluru. The team will then head to Zimbabwe for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup, which is set to begin on January 15. Suryavanshi is part of the U-19 team and recently represented the country at the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup in the UAE.

Earlier this week, Suryavanshi made headlines by creating history in men’s List A cricket. At just 14 years and 272 days, he became the youngest player to score a century in the format during the opening day of the 2025-26 Vijay Hazare Trophy. The match against Arunachal Pradesh in Ranchi was only his seventh List A game, having made his debut in December 2024.

Batting for Bihar in the Plate League fixture, the left-hander reached his maiden senior hundred off just 36 balls. He then went on to register the fastest 150 in men’s List A cricket, reaching the landmark in 59 deliveries and breaking AB de Villiers and Jos Buttler’s record. Suryavanshi was eventually dismissed for 190 off 84 balls, an innings that included 16 fours and 15 sixes.

Earlier this month, he slammed a 95-ball 171 against the UAE in the U-19 Asia Cup. Prior to that, he registered the joint-third fastest century by an Indian in men’s T20, when he scored 42-ball 144 against UAE at the Rising Stars Asia Cup. Suryavanshi also scored a lot of runs in the age-group tours of England and Australia earlier this year.

However, his breakthrough performance came during the 2025 season of the Indian Premier League, in which he scored the second-fastest century ever and also became the youngest player to do so in the league’s history. He achieved this milestone while opening for the Rajasthan Royals.