Vaibhav Suryavanshi for India - (Source: X.com)
On Wednesday, February 4, India and Afghanistan locked horns against each other in the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup 2026. In the ongoing match, eyes were on Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has been underwhelming in the tournament so far.
The 14-year-old, who is India’s primary batter, had just 196 runs in five innings before the Afghanistan clash. Interestingly, amid the struggles, the fans sharpened their observations and pointed out that the southpaw has donned a new jersey number.
Suryavanshi Dons Jersey No.3 for India's Under-19 World Cup 2026 campaign
Notably, Suryavanshi used to wear the No. 18 jersey, the famous number worn by Virat Kohli in his entire career. However, the left-handed batter has been wearing the No. 3 jersey since the Under-19 World Cup 2026.
When Vaibhav started his cricketing career, he donned the No.12 jersey, which he also wears in IPL for Rajasthan Royals. However, the southpaw made a switch to Virat’s jersey number during India's U19 tour of England in July 2025. Since then, the youngster continued with Virat’s number, but after he flopped in the Asia Cup final, the fans put the blame on his jersey.
Suryavanshi faced flak for not living upto the legacy of Virat, and the 14-year-old was at the centre of criticism for his jersey. However, the fans assumed that Suryavanshi made a switch to jersey number to escape the constant comparison with Virat.
However, it is not the case, and there is a different reason why Vaibhav switched to Jersey No.3, and this article will shed light on that.
Why has Vaibhav Suryavanshi switched to New Jersey No.3?
Notably, the move has stemmed from a request from Suryavanshi’s mother. Suryavanshi revealed it was his mother who wanted him to go with no.3 in the continental showpiece because of numerology.
“1 and 2 make 3. My mother told me that there is no point in taking 12, let's take three directly," said Suryavanshi during India A's media day ahead of the Under-19 Asia Cup 2025.
Notably, it is the second tournament since Suryavanshi has donned the new jersey. So far, the new number has not been entirely lucky for him, but if India manage to lift the Under-19 ODI World Cup 2026, then it is likely that he retain the No.3 jersey for rest of his career.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi finally shines against Afghanistan
After days of criticism, Vaibhav Suryavanshi finally shone with the bat and silenced his critics. In the ongoing match against Afghanistan, the 14-year-old scored 68 (33), which featured nine fours and four sixes.
However, Vaibhav Suryavanshi still faced criticism for getting out in a similar fashion. The 14-year-old has struggled to deal with short balls where he is cramped for room. The Afghanistan bowlers exposed the same and got rid of Vaibhav.
Talking about the ongoing match, at the time of writing this article, India Under-19 are 116/1 after 13.1 overs and still require 195 runs to win.
