Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes world cricket's wunderkind at the age of 14

A 14-year-old wunderkind has the cricket world in raptures after scoring an electrifying 35-ball century in the Indian Premier League.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi broke all sorts of batting records in Twenty20 cricket during the IPL game in Jaipur on Monday night.

The precocious batter seemed destined for stardom when he went to Rajasthan Royals during the IPL auction last year at the age of 13. He hit a six with the first ball he faced in the tournament. It took Suryavanshi just three games in the sport’s richest, ritziest league to grab global attention as he smashed 11 sixes and seven fours in his breathtaking 101.

Now he’s the real thing. He plundered all those boundaries against an experienced Gujarat Titans bowling attack with a combined 694 games of international experience.

Suryavanshi’s fearless hitting stunned Rashid Khan, Ishant Sharma, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Karim Janat, Mohammed Siraj and Sai Kishore, who have carried Gujarat to six victories in nine IPL games this season.

Rajasthan, which won the inaugural edition of IPL in 2008, has a history of nurturing cricketing talent. Suryavanshi was born a year after Yousuf Pathan hit the then fastest century in IPL in 2010 off 37 balls for Rajasthan against Mumbai Indians.

Pathan was quick to congratulate the youngster for breaking his record for fastest IPL hundred by an Indian.

“Even more special to see it happen while playing for ( rajasthanroyals ), just like I did. There’s truly something magical about this franchise for youngsters," Pathan posted on X. "Long way to go, champ.”

Royals batting coach Vikram Rathore knew what Suryavanshi was capable of doing at top level cricket after watching him practice a few months ago, and quickly figured it was important to nurture him.

“To do it in front of this kind of crowd and in a situation like this against a really, really good bowling attack, I think it was really special and a lot of credit to him,” Rathore said. “He has a solid head on his his shoulders. Today was an extraordinary innings.”

Rathore was careful, though, not to pile too much pressure on his young star by comparing him with the great Sachin Tendulkar.

“It’s too early to say that and it’s unfair I think on the kid to compare him to Sachin Tendulkar," he told the post-game news conference. "As I said he’s a new Vaibhav Suryavansh. He’s a special kid and he’s a special talent. If he keeps working hard he’ll have a special place in Indian cricket I’m sure.”

Tendulkar, who transformed from teenage talent into an iconic figure and the leading international scorer in the sport, was impressed with Suryavanshi's innings.

The cricket fraternity, including stars from other IPL franchises, praised the talent of the youngest player to score a century in a professional T20 league, and the second-fastest in the history of the IPL.

“Witnessed this carnage of an innings by this youngster. Absolutely insane!” Suryakumar Yadav of Mumbai Indians posted on X.

Former India batter Yuvraj Singh was impressed with the fearless attitude of Suryavanshi.

“What were you doing at 14? This kid is taking on the best bowlers in the world without blinking an eyelid!” Yuvraj posted to his 6.4 million followers on X. “Vaibhav Suryavanshi -- remember the name! Playing with a fearless attitude Proud to see the next generation shine!”

With the likes of Rahul Dravid and Rathore around him at Rajasthan, Suryavanshi could easily be fast tracked into international cricket.

IPL commentator and ex-West Indies international cricket Ian Bishop said Suryavanshi needs to be surrounded by the right people so that he doesn’t fade out.

“It’s unprecedented, 14 years old. This is new territory," Bishop said. "The scrutiny on him when he plays the next game, and if he doesn’t score any runs, you know, there are going to be detractors out there … this kid is going to be tested.

"His parents are going to have to be so close to him, and hopefully — I'm sure they are great parents — you’ve got to surround this kid with proper people for the next five years to ensure this high that he’s got so early in his career, there isn’t a drop.”

Suryavanshi made his first class debut for Bihar in northeast India in January 2024.

“Vaibhav has shown the world the immense talent that lies hidden in the soil of Bihar,” his father Sanjeev Suryavanshi said in a statement Tuesday. “Today, Bihar stands tall with pride. Our entire family and people across Bihar are overjoyed by this accomplishment.”

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi bats during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi celebrates after scoring fifty runs during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi plays a shot during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi reacts after their win in the Indian Premier League cricket match against Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi celebrates after scoring a century during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

Rajasthan Royals' Vaibhav Suryavanshi hits a boundary during the Indian Premier League cricket match between Rajasthan Royals and Gujarat Titans at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, India, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP Photo/Surjeet Yadav)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)