New Delhi, Dec. 26 -- Fourteen-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi traded runs for recognition on Friday as he was conferred the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, India's highest civilian award for children, by Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

The ceremony, held in New Delhi, meant that Bihar's teenage sensation was absent from his team's Vijay Hazare Trophy fixture against Manipur - a notable omission given the wave of attention generated by his historic performance earlier in the week. Yet the reason was unequivocal: a once-in-a-lifetime national honour.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi was among 20 young achievers honoured this year, with the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar recognising exceptional accomplishments across s...