Catch Them Young

Many of you must have heard about Vaibhav Suryavanshi by now. If not, let me forewarn you—you’re going to hear his name a lot more in the years to come.He’s just fourteen. Yes, fourteen. And he’s already made history as the youngest debutant in IPL 2025, playing for the Rajasthan Royals team. When he stepped onto that pitch, he didn’t just walk in—he arrived. First ball? Six. Against a seasoned international bowler, Shardul Thakur. You could almost hear the collective gasp from every cricket fan watching.Why is this story important now? Because Vaibhav’s story is not just about cricket. It’s about potential. It’s about what happens when young people are guided, supported, and believed in. And it’s also a beautiful example of what Gurudev Swami Chinmayananda meant when he said, ‘Catch them young’..Gurudev wasn’t talking about cricket or sports per se. He was talking about life. How we must nurture values, discipline, and strength in our youth from an early age. Because those early years are everything. That’s when the roots grow deep.Vaibhav’s roots are strong. His father, a club-level cricketer in Bihar, sold his land so that his son could train. Think about that sacrifice for a second. It doesn’t just fund training, it builds character. And Vaibhav’s performances reflect it. He smashed an unbelievable 101 off 38 balls in just his third IPL match, which made him the youngest centurion in IPL history. And not just that, his strike rate, his sixes, the fearless attitude, all of it left even veteran players stunned..But here’s the thing, and I want you to take this in: success is amazing, but staying grounded is essential. We’ve seen many young stars burn out because they got carried away by fame. Talent may open doors but humility, discipline, and values keep one from falling.That’s exactly what Swami Chinmayananda worked so tirelessly to teach. He founded Bala Vihars and Chinmaya Yuva Kendras to share spiritual wisdom and shape lives. To make sure that young people grow up with clarity in thought and purpose in action.Vaibhav is still at the beginning of his journey. He’s shown the world what’s possible when youth meets preparation and the right support. But now, more than ever, he and others like him, need guidance to stay true to their path..In a cricket-crazy nation like India, a prodigal talent such as Vaibhav occurs once every decade. But we have observed that lack of ground support, poor performance or consistency issues in the domestic arena, disciplinary issues and physical injuries fail to create heroes out of such youngsters. In India, in the past thirty years, we have seen break-out stars like Unmukt Chand, Prithvi Shaw and Vinod Kambli struggle with these issues. Across the world, there are even more examples such as Hasan Raza or Will Pucovski.Even after potential is identified, a lot has to go into harnessing the dynamism in that talent. With a supporting ecosystem of coaches, parents, teammates and administrators, the player too has to put in necessary efforts—turn up every day for training, sacrifice the lures of youth and maintain their physical and mental health—to achieve immortal glory. Let’s hope that Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes one such trailblazer for India.

Catch Them Young

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