Vaibhav Sooryavanshi added yet another feather to his already stacked cap as the 14-year-old batting prodigy received the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar from Droupadi Murmu, the Honourable President of India, at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Thursday.
The teenager is also slated to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi later in the day.
Part of the National Children’s Awards, the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar is India’s highest civilian honour for individuals aged five to 18, instituted to recognise exceptional achievements across diverse fields like art and culture, innovation, science and technology, social service, sports and instances of bravery.
The award caps a landmark season for the Rajasthan Royals player.
Meet the newest recipient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, the highest civilian honor for children. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 👏👏💗 pic.twitter.com/2gr8N64ToP
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) December 26, 2025
Earlier this week, he hammered 190 off 84 balls against Arunachal Pradesh at the Vijay Hazare Trophy, becoming the youngest centurion in List A history. The knock also broke AB de Villiers’ record for the fastest 150 in List A cricket and his 15 sixes in the innings are the most by any Indian in the 50-over format.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rapid ascent has been one of the year’s standout global sports stories. He was the most-searched Indian on Google and ranked sixth overall worldwide.
He enjoyed a breakout IPL debut season with the Royals and made history as the youngest-ever player in the tournament at just 14 years and 23 days, debuting against the Lucknow Super Giants.
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The southpaw then stunned everyone nine days later by becoming the youngest centurion in the league’s history. Vaibhav’s explosive 35-ball 100 against the Gujarat Titans was the fastest IPL century by an Indian and the second-fastest overall, behind only Chris Gayle.
He also scored a half-century against Chennai Super Kings and finished his debut IPL campaign with 252 runs scored at a sensational strike rate of 206.56, winning the Super Striker of the Season award.
What followed was a historic campaign across age-group cricket, becoming the fastest batter to score a century in Youth ODIs.
At the Rising Stars Asia Cup earlier this year, he scored 144 off 42 balls for India A against UAE, smashing 11 fours and 15 sixes.
Earlier this month, the teenager hit an unbeaten 108 off 61 balls for Bihar against Maharashtra in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Kolkata - becoming the youngest player to score a century in the tournament’s history.
Last month, Instagram also chose to spotlight Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s journey on its official page - making him only the second Indian cricketer after Virat Kohli to receive the honour.
Following the ceremony in Delhi, Sooryavanshi will rejoin the India Under-19 squad and travel to Zimbabwe for preparations ahead of the Under-19 World Cup, which begins from January 15.
