‘50 overs bhi nahi khel sakte...’: Vaibhav Suryavanshi hype meets reality check; Yograj asks 'Can he survive 5 days?'

Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s sensational rise in IPL 2025 has sparked a nationwide conversation. The 14-year-old dazzled in his debut season, scoring 252 runs for Rajasthan Royals, including a record-breaking 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans. His flair and audacity at such a young age had many drawing parallels with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored 252 runs in IPL 2025(AFP)

Suryavanshi became the youngest-ever player to appear in the IPL, debuting at just 14 years and 23 days old against Lucknow Super Giants. Just nine days later, he lit up Jaipur with a jaw-dropping ton — the fastest by an Indian batter in IPL history.

His red-hot form continued beyond the IPL. In a red-ball practice match at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, he reportedly smashed 190 runs off just 90 balls, making a strong case ahead of India Under-19's upcoming tour of England.

But even amid the hype, a reality check came from former cricketer Yograj Singh, father of Yuvraj Singh. Speaking to InsideSport, Yograj raised a crucial question:

"My vision is Test cricket. Can you survive five days? That's the real test. 50 overs - fair enough. 20 overs - fair enough. I don't go by these formats. But since they (formats) are there, you should be fit enough to play all three formats. Why do you struggle? Because you are only concentrating on T20, IPL and 50 overs. Aj toh 50 overs bhi nahi khel sakte hum log (Today, we cannot even play 50 overs). That's the way we are," he said.

Yograj didn’t stop there — he took a dig at coaches and administrators, accusing them of lacking passion:

"All the coaches and all the administrators want to sit in the air conditioning and do things. Here, I am under 48 degrees Celsius, having a passion to produce more brilliant cricketers like Yuvraj Singh," he added.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi's IPL heroics wowed fans, but Yograj Singh asks tough questions: "Can he survive five days? That's the real test of a cricketer."

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