On a cold January night in 2024, Aushtosh Aman saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi shadow practicing in a hotel gallery in Patna. Ashutosh, who was the captain of Bihar, enquired, “Chotu, khana khaya re (Have you eaten?).” A stunned 12-year-old fumbled and replied, “Man nahi kar raha bhaiaya (I don’t feel like eating).” Ashutosh instructed him to wear a jacket and cap and took him out for dinner. On the dinner table, a confused Vaibhav asked, “Bhaiya, kuch samajh nahi aa raha, mutton aur chawal order kar dijiye (Brother, I am not able to understand the menu, just order mutton and rice for me).”
The next day, Vaibhav made his Ranji Trophy debut against Mumbai. On Day 2, when Vaibhav was padding up to open, he was struggling to lace his shoes. Ashutosh again came to his rescue and asked, “Laces baandhne nahi aate? (Don’t you know how to lace your shoes?).” Vaibhav just nodded.
“Those four days I was very nervous. When I saw him at the nets, I wanted him to play. Even the selectors and Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) officials wanted to blood him. I was worried. What if he got hurt? How would he deal with the pressure? He scored 19 in the first innings against Mumbai, and I nonchalantly said in the dressing room, ‘Bihar ko pehla cricketing superstar mil gaya (Bihar has got its first cricketing superstar),” recalls Aman.
Ashutosh was right about his prophecy. On Monday, Suryavanshi smashed the quickest ton by an Indian in the IPL, and made Rahul Dravid forget that he was on a wheelchair. The entire Sawai Mansingh Stadium chanted the name of the 14-year-old.
“Gazab khela (Exceptional knock),” was Ashutosh’s crisp reply on the knock.
The Dhoni of Bihar
In 2000, when Jharkhand was carved out from Bihar, a Bhojpuri song titled “Ab Alag bhail Jharkhand, khau shakarkand (Now Jharkhand is separate, eat sweet potato),” became an instant hit in salons, in buses, and even at weddings. The song was a taunt that with Jharkhand taking all the mineral resources and industries, Bihar was only left with sweet potato.
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A wave of migration began as millions left the state for better opportunities. Even Ashutosh, like the many who went searching for better education and jobs, left Bihar last year for a coaching gig with Services. Cricketing infrastructure was, and still is, a mess but the sight of Vaibhav hitting those towering sixes on Monday night made Ashutosh, a left-arm spinner, very emotional.
“There was no cricket in Bihar, and those who had tried their hand at cricket were left unemployed. Let’s not even talk about the infrastructure,” says Aman.
Who’s that IPL player?
“When I saw Vaibhav hitting those sixes yesterday, I got emotional. He will be for Bihar what MS Dhoni is for Jharkhand. Vaibhav has put Bihar on the cricketing landscape. People now know about Samastipur. One thing that is in Bihari DNA is that we don’t fear because we have got nothing to lose. He started his IPL career by hitting a six off Shardul Thakur and then completed his century with a six off Rashid Khan,” said Aman, who has played 34 first-class matches.
The list of cricketers from Bihar shifting trade elsewhere doesn’t end there. Ishan Kishan went to Ranchi from Patna because his father is a businessman. Pacer Mukesh Kumar moved to Kolkata in 2012 to help his father’s taxi business, which was suffering losses. He used to play cricket in Kolkata’s maidan for Rs 400-500 before he was spotted by Ranadeb Bose, former Bengal pacer and bowling coach.
Another Indian pacer, Akash Deep, had a similar story. He went to Kolkata to become a truck driver and ended up playing cricket. He has now opened a cricket academy in Sasaram. “The sole reason for building that academy was so that no kid should face the hurdles I had to endure when I was young. They don’t have to leave Bihar to go to other states to get good facilities. I will provide them with world-class infrastructure,” he told TimesofIndia.com before the start of the IPL.
More Vaibhavs in the pipeline
The BCA president, Rakesh Tiwary, who saw the knock from the stands on Monday, couldn’t believe what he had witnessed.
“The crowd was chanting ‘Vaibhav! Vaibhav!’, and it is still giving me goosebumps. It was an experience of a lifetime for sure,” said Tiwari.
Tiwari is confident that more Vaibhavs will come through from the state.
“You will see more talented cricketers coming out of Bihar now. There is no dearth of talent.”
“We are working on the infrastructure. The BCA has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the state government, which grants BCA a 30-year lease on the Moin-ul-Haq Stadium, which sets the stage for the redevelopment of the stadium, poised to transform it into a state-of-the-art, international-standard sporting complex. There is another stadium that we are building in Rajgir. There are more smaller centers across the state that are in the pipeline,” he said.
