Ranji Trophy 2024-25: Bihar prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi available for selection against Karnataka

The 13-year-old had not been a part of the 20-member squad that was finalised for the first two rounds of the tournament post an intervention by the Patna High Court.

FILE PHOTO: India’s Vaibhav Suryavanshi raises his bat after scoring a hundred against Australia Under-19 at Chepauk Stadium in Chennai. | Photo Credit: Ragu R / The Hindu

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who recently became the youngest batter ever to score an international century during the ‘Youth’ Tests against Australia Under-19, is available for selection for Bihar for its Ranji Trophy ‘Group C’ home game against Karnataka, starting from Saturday.

The 13-year-old had not been a part of the 20-member squad that was finalised for the first two rounds of the tournament post an intervention by the Patna High Court.

However, according to the Bihar Cricket Association president Rakesh Kumar Tiwary, Vaibhav was supposed to feature in the second game against Bengal but inclement weather in Kalyani saw the match getting abandoned without a ball bowled.

Vaibhav’s elder brother confirmed the development to  Sportstar, saying,  “He is with the team at present. Whether he will be playing or not, we will obviously get to know when the toss happens.”

Tiwary believes it was always a matter of time before the southpaw, who made headlines last season after breaking World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh’s record of being the youngest Indian ever to be handed a First-Class debut, made the team again.

“Vaibhav was representing India U-19 earlier. The selectors (new committee led by former Bihar wicketkeeper-batter Madhusudan Tantubhai), when announcing the squad, had included the clause that Vaibhav would automatically walk in once he is free from his international commitments,” he said.

After Bihar’s embarrassing loss by an innings and 43 runs in the opening game against Haryana, captain Veer Pratap Singh wouldn’t mind a shuffle before it gets too late.