News Opinion Columns Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the superhero Bihar never had The beauty of having sporting heroes you can relate to is that they make greatness feel attainable, not aspirational Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals plays a shot during Eliminator of the TATA Indian Premier League 2026 between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals at New International Cricket Stadium, New Chandigarh, India, on May 27, 2026. 3 min read May 30, 2026 06:21 AM IST First published on: May 30, 2026 at 06:21 AM IST I grew up in a very small town in Bihar. A town termed “rural” by English newspapers and “pichhda” by the Hindi ones. We had basic facilities, but to dream big, you had to leave home, sometimes as early as 10 years old. While one had a choice of Engineering, Medicine and the ultimate Bihari thirst trap — civil services — sports was a distant dream, often killed in examination halls and coaching centres. There were several reasons, and a major one was the lack of a sporting hero.…