Young Indian cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who impressed fans during the IPL 2025 season and the ongoing U19 ODI series in England, was seen at Edgbaston on Thursday. He watched Shubman Gill play a historic innings live from the stands.
Gill Makes History
Shubman Gill continued his excellent form from the previous day. He scored another hundred on Day 2, becoming the first Indian captain to hit a double century in a Test match in England. Moreover, Gill also became the first Asian captain to score 200 runs in a SENA country (South Africa, England, New Zealand, Australia), beating Tillakaratne Dilshan’s 193 at Lord’s in 2011.
Gill’s achievement also marked just the second time an Indian skipper scored a double century in an overseas Test, the first being Virat Kohli’s 200 in North Sound back in 2016.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi Spotted in the Crowd
Shortly after Gill’s enthusiastic celebration in Birmingham, the camera showed Vaibhav in the audience. The BCCI had arranged for the U19 team to watch the senior team’s performance. Vaibhav had just scored a fiery 86 runs against England U19 the day before, in the third match of the series.
Vaibhav is currently part of India’s U19 squad. He played for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, where he became the youngest male player to score a T20 century. He attended the Edgbaston match along with his U19 teammates, including captain Ayush Mhatre, who had shined during the season for Chennai Super Kings.
Former Cricketers Praise Young Talents
During the broadcast, former England captain Mike Atherton said, “Good to see the under-19 team here. They’re playing England in a series this summer.”
Dinesh Karthik, who was on commentary with him, added, “The captain, Ayush Mhatre played for the Chennai Super Kings this year. Did really well. We are proud of Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who played for the Rajasthan Royals. And I’m sure a lot of these guys who are part of this team will eventually end up playing for the country and obviously the IPL as well.”
Atherton replied, “As Shubman Gill did. He was a World Cup-winning under-19 cricketer. Oh, not captain. Prithvi Shaw was the captain when India won that.”
Vaibhav’s Performance in the U19 Series
Vaibhav has been a standout performer in the ongoing series. So far, he has scored 86, 45, and 48 runs in three matches. His aggressive knock of 86 on Thursday nearly broke Rishabh Pant’s nine-year-old U19 record for the fastest 50. Though he missed it by a fraction, his performance helped India take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series, with two games left.