Vaibhav Suryavanshi reveals mother-inspired story behind jersey no.3 at Rising Stars Asia Cup; ‘no point in taking 12…’

After dominating in the Indian Premier League (IPL), and in England and Australia, all by the age of 14, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is poised to do the same at the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025, which gets underway in Doha from November 14. Notably, it will be Suryavanshi's first multi-nation tournament, representing the country.

For a cricketer, his or her jersey number carries a special story. While it may be someone's birthdate or a lucky number, there are several players who randomly took a number and decided to stick with it. As far as Suryavanshi is concerned, the southpaw got success in both 12 and 18.

While Suryavanshi wore jersey no.12 at Rajasthan Royals, the Bihar-born lad was seen wearing no.18 during India U-19's tours of England and Australia. At the Rising Stars Asia Cup, Suryavanshi got a new number - 3.

Asked about his new jersey number, Suryavanshi revealed it was his mother who wanted him to go with no.3 in the continental showpiece. 1 and 2 makes 3. My mother told me that there is no point in taking 12, lets take three directly," said Suryavanshi during India A's media day.

Suryavanshi came into the scene when the left-hander was picked by Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025 auction. At then 13 years, Suryavanshi became the youngest to smash an IPL hundred. There has been no looking back for the youngster since then with hundreds in England and Australia.

India A in Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025

Notably, the Rising Stars Asia Cup is a rebranded version of the Emerging Asia Cup. India A have been clubbed in Group A alongside Oman, United Arab Emirates and Pakistan A. Led by Jitesh Sharma, the Boys in Blue will open their campaign against UAE on November 14, before facing Pakistan A in a high-octane clash on November 16.

Besides Suryavanshi, the Indian squad also includes stars like Priyansh Arya, Ashutosh Sharma, Avishek Porel, who have had great run in the IPL in the previous edition or two.

India A squad in Rising Stars Asia Cup 2025

Priyansh Arya, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Nehal Wadhera, Naman Dhir (vc), Suryansh Shedge, Jitesh Sharma (c) (wk), Ramandeep Singh, Harsh Dubey, Ashutosh Sharma, Yash Thakur, Gurjapneet Singh, Vijay Kumar Vyshak, Yudhvir Singh Charak, Abhisek Porel (wk), Suyash Sharma.