NEWS
Follow UsThe Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last month threw a lot of surprises, but none bigger than Rajasthan Royals (RR) purchasing Vaibhav Suryavanshi, all of 13 years old, for a staggering 1.10 crore.
Suryavanshi, even before the auction, held the record for being the youngest centurion in professional cricket, but even then, pretty much no one expected a franchise to go after a 13-year-old. But RR shocked the world by not just purchasing the young left-hander by splashing a whopping 1.10 crore on him.
Speaking on the ‘360 show’ hosted by AB de Villiers, RR skipper Sanju Samson said that Suryavanshi's 58-ball century against Australia U19 earlier in the year, representing India U19, made the RR management feel that it was worth taking a punt on the precocious left-hander.
“All of the people in the Rajasthan decision-making group saw him bat at the U19 Test match vs Australia in Chennai, where he scored a hundred of 60-70 balls. The shots that he played there, it felt like, that’s something special and we felt like we have to have those kind of individuals in the side and see where they go,” Samson said.
Samson further explained how RR have a history of turning young players into superstars, citing the example of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Riyan Parag among others.
“Rajasthan Royals have a history of doing this. They find out talents and make them champions. For example, there is a Yashasvi Jaiswal who came to RR as a youngster and is now a rockstar of the Indian team. There is Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel – they all fall under that line,” Samson said.
“I think RR loves that kind of thing – yes, we want to win the IPL, but we also want to make sure that we are giving enough champions to Indian cricket. It will be exciting to meet him.”
De Villiers, meanwhile, said that Suryavanshi is ‘lucky’ to be picked by RR, who will be coached by none other than Rahul Dravid, who is known for his special ability to nurture young talents.
“It is very young, and it obviously comes with a lot of risk. But I think with the squad RR have, and with Rahul Dravid there, I think the 13-year-old kid is lucky to have so much experience and good people around him that will guide him and help him,” de Villiers said.
Suryavanshi recently represented India U19 in the recently concluded U19 Asia Cup, which Bangladesh won. There, he smashed 176 runs at an average of 44.00 and a strike rate of 145.45.
