In the IPL, the Rajasthan’s young batting duo Yashasvi-Vaibhav broke the record held by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir—500 runs off 309 balls—while the Board, under the guidance of National Cricket Academy (NCA) Head VVS Laxman, has initiated a systematic plan to groom the next generation of players for the Test team.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi broke the record
In the IPL, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Vaibhav Suryavanshi of the Rajasthan Royals have established a new standard. As the fastest Indian opening tandem in the league’s history, these two youthful hitters have scored 500 runs. By doing this, they surpassed a record previously held, in part, by Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, the current head coach of the Indian national team.
The Yashasvi-Vaibhav duo had amassed 497 runs off 246 balls before the Rajasthan Royals vs. Gujarat Titans game. The teenage pair faced just two deliveries in Saturday’s game before reaching their 500 runs together. Together, Yashasvi and Vaibhav scored 500 runs in 248 balls.
Virender Sehwag and Gambhir set a record for the fastest 500 runs scored by an Indian duo in the IPL when they hit 500 runs in 309 balls. On Saturday, Yashasvi and Vaibhav overtook them to take first place. Yashasvi opened the batting against Gujarat with 55 runs off 36 balls, including three sixes and six fours, while Vaibhav hit 31 runs off 18 balls. During his innings, the 15-year-old batter hit five fours and one six. They scored 70 runs in 6.2 overs as a first-wicket partnership.
Rajasthan batted first in the encounter on Saturday, scoring 210 runs at the expense of six wickets. Shubman Gill’s Gujarat finished their comeback batting with 204 runs for eight wickets lost. Rajasthan, led by Riyan Parag, won by six runs.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Photo: PTI.
Laxman’s recommendation
On home soil, the Indian team has suffered consecutive Test series defeats over two years against two nations—New Zealand and South Africa. With the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma having retired from Test cricket, the remaining players have yet to fully inspire confidence. Against this backdrop, the Board has initiated the process of grooming the next generation of talent. Under the guidance of VVS Laxman, Head of the Centre of Excellence (CoE), a comprehensive plan has been formulated to identify and select young cricketers specifically for red-ball cricket.
The Board plans to select a pool of 64 cricket players, all under 25, in order to guarantee a consistent supply of quality in Test cricket for the next ten years. This idea has been communicated to the Centre of Excellence (CoE) and the coaches and selectors for the India A, Under-23, and Under-19 teams. Test cricket will be the main focus of the training camps in Bengaluru throughout the course of the upcoming year, with the particular goal of developing future talent for the format.
“India’s emerging squads will be made up only of cricket players under 25 who will go on ‘shadow tours’ as the India A team,” a Board insider said. Only once Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar and Coach Gautam Gambhir have been fully briefed will decisions about this situation be taken. The Under-19 and Under-25 teams will fly to Sri Lanka to play four-day matches just after the IPL concludes. Trials carried out under the CoE framework will be used to choose these players.
How will the team be selected?
A total of 64 cricketers will be selected. They will be divided into four squads, each comprising 16 members. Each squad will play two four-day matches at the COE. These matches will be played on various pitches to ensure high-quality practice. From this group of 64, the Junior Selection Committee—headed by S. Sharath—will select 25 players for the Under-23 squad. These players will be chosen based on their strong performances in the Cooch Behar Trophy and the CK Nayudu Trophy. Another 25 players will be selected based on their performances in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The remaining 14 players will be drawn from the IPL; alongside Vaibhav, this group includes players such as Ayush Mhatre and Sameer Rizvi.