Teen cricketer Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to skip Class 10 board exams, focus on IPL 2026

India U19 sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will not appear for his Class 10 board examinations this year, his coach reportedly said on Monday, putting an end to days of speculation around whether the 14-year-old would sit for the tests.

Sooryavanshi, who lives in Tajpur, Bihar, is enrolled at Modesty School and was scheduled to write his board exams from February 17 to March 11. However, with most of 2025 spent on international assignments with India U19 and India A, preparation time was always going to be tight.

“He won't be giving the Class X exams. He is currently in Nagpur, preparing for the upcoming IPL. He has already joined the Rajasthan Royals for a pre-season camp,” his coach Manish Ojha told Hindustan Times.


The left-handed batter is expected to be a key part of the Rajasthan Royals squad for IPL 2026, which begins on March 26.

Adarsh Kumar Pintu, director of Modesty School in Tajpur, said Sooryavanshi’s examination form had been submitted and his admit card issued. The exam centre had been allotted at Poddar International School. His father, Sanjeev Sooryavanshi, confirmed that cricket remains the immediate priority.

“Right now, Vaibhav's entire focus is on cricket; he is busy training, and he will not appear for the exams starting from February 17. He will appear for the board exams next year,” ETVBharat quoted him as saying.

The development marks a shift from earlier reports that suggested the teenager would balance cricketing commitments with academics after his standout run at the ICC Under-19 World Cup.

Sooryavanshi was one of the tournament’s biggest stars, smashing 175 off 80 balls in the final against England and finishing as the second-highest run-scorer with 439 runs in seven matches at an average of 62.71 and a strike rate of 169.49. He also set a record for most sixes in a single U19 World Cup edition.

Since late 2024, the southpaw’s rise has been swift. He became the youngest player to secure an IPL contract after being picked up by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore in the 2025 mega auction. In his debut season, he scored 252 runs in seven innings at a strike rate above 200, including a century.

(With inputs from agencies)