Sundar Pichai woke up to watch Vaibhav Suryavansh’s IPL debut

Google CEO Sundar Pichai made sure not to miss the historic IPL debut of 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who played his first match for Rajasthan Royals in their clash against Lucknow Super Giants on April 19. Pichai took to his official X account to praise the youngster’s fearless batting display, which included a stunning first-ball six off Shardul Thakur.

Pichai praised Suryavanshi’s effort and admitted he woke up specifically to catch the live action of the RR vs LSG match to witness the debut of the eighth-grader. His appreciation added to the massive attention the teenager has received since entering the IPL scene.

"Woke up to watch an 8th grader play in the IPL!!!! What a debut!," Pichai's post read.

Opening the innings for Rajasthan in their 181-run chase against LSG, Suryavanshi came in place of the injured Sanju Samson and partnered with Yashasvi Jaiswal. The young batter’s confident strokeplay lit up the Jaipur crowd and caught the attention of former cricketers and fans alike. Speaking on JioHotstar, Sanjay Manjrekar noted how the knock would surely be a proud moment for Suryavanshi’s parents.

Ever since being picked up by RR as the youngest player in IPL auction history, the hype surrounding Suryavanshi has been massive. On debut, he lived up to expectations, scoring an impressive 34 off 20 balls. His impressive IPL first chapter came to an end when he was stumped by Rishabh Pant off Aiden Markram’s bowling.

No Mutton Or Pizza

Bought for a fee of INR 1.1 crore by Rajasthan Royals in the mega auction last year, Suryavanshi has been kept on a strict diet in order to better prepare himself for life in IPL.

"Mutton nahi khana hai usko, instructions hain. Pizza hata diya hai uske diet chart mein se [Mutton is not allowed for him as per the instructions. Pizza has been removed from his diet chart]. He is just fond of chicken and mutton. He is a kid, so he used to love pizza a lot. But he doesn't eat it anymore. When we used to give him mutton, no matter how much we gave, he would finish all of it. That's why he looks a bit chubby," his coach Manish Ojha said.  

Coach Ojha sees left-hander Vaibhav as a mix of Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara, asserting that his aggression is pretty similar to the World Cup-winning India all-rounder.