Vaibhav Suryavanshi's childhood coach Manish Ojha expects his 14-year-old ward to break into India's T20 team in the next one or two years.
Suryavanshi, on Monday, made a record 38-ball-101 to become IPL's youngest centurion at 14 years and 32 days.
The left-handed batter smashed 11 sixes and seven fours in his stunning onslaught against Gujarat Titans' potent bowling attack to hand Rajasthan Royals an eight-wicket win in Jaipur.
"As a coach, it is a proud moment for me. For a state like Bihar, which is not strong in sports, it is like ray of sunlight. He would have motivated many people, he has put Bihar on the map of cricket in India," Ojha told PTI videos.
"I feel that if he continues to play like this, he will definitely break into India's T20 squad in 1-2 years."
Suryavanshi has already played for India U-19s and made his first-class debut in January 2024.
Ojha said Suryavanshi is a naturally gifted cricketer with a crystal clear thought process.
"We have coached him, but he had the natural gifts. He has a learning attitude, whatever is suggested to him, he learns immediately. He has been a very aggressive player since beginning. He likes to play shots.
"Two years back at the academy, there was a practice session, I told him why don't you take ones and twos, he said that 'if I can hit sixes, there is no need for singles'.
"He had clarity in mind from an early stage. He has a clear thought process on how to play, how to approach the game," the coach added.
Ojha gave a sneak peek into the 14-year-old's mentality while batting.
"As I said earlier, he will be part of the T20 Indian team, so he has taken the first step towards that goal. The aggressive style he displayed and the confidence with which he was playing were commendable and a matter of great pride for me as a coach. He respects the good ball and punishes the bad ball. This has been his batting tendency right from the beginning," the coach told ANI.
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