Vijay Zol first hit the headlines when he scored a monumental 451 in a Cooch Behar Under-19 game in 2011. The left-handed top-order batsman hails from the small town of Jalna in Maharashtra, which had no cricketing facilities to speak of. Zol took the risk of abandoning his studies to focus on the game, with the backing of his family and the resources to do so. His father hired a personal coach and prepared a cement wicket in the backyard for him to practice. It didn't take long for Zol to fulfill the early promise, as he scored a century on first-class debut for India A against New Zealand A and a double-century on Ranji debut for Maharashtra. He was part of the victorious India U-19 World Cup team in 2012 and captained the side in the next edition in 2014. As the U-19 captain, he presided over four series wins till the World Cup, which saw India bowing out in the quarter-final. He was picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2014 auction.
ESPNcricinfo Staff