Rajasthan Royals handed a debut to youngster Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the team’s match against Lucknow Super Giants. Vaibhav, 14, became the youngest player to make an Indian Premier League debut. He replaces Rajasthan captain Sanju Samson, who was ruled out due to injury.
Vaibhav, born in 2011, was born after the inception of the Indian Premier League in 2008. This also set a unique record as he became the first player to feature in the IPL to be born after the start of the tournament.
Stand-in captain for Rajasthan, Riyan Parag confirmed the player’s but against LSG. Vaibhav was named in the Impact Subs since Rajasthan were sent to bowl first at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium in Jaipur.
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Vaibhav Suryavanshi rose to prominence in the 2024 season after raking in some impressive performances in age group cricket. He broke a string of records by becoming the youngest Indian player to feature in List A cricket. He also became the youngest player to make his debut in the Ranji Trophy at the age of 12 years and 284 days.
Vaibhav was picked up by Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2025 mega auction, going with the ethos of franchise to invest in young and upcoming talents. Rajasthan beat Delhi Capitals for the signature of the then 13-year-old, picking him up for Rs 1.10 crore.
In the build-up to the IPL season, Vaibhav hit the fastest hundred by an Indian at the U19 Tests. The youngster smashed his century in just 58 balls, which lies only behind Moeen Ali’s all-time record (56 balls).
More On Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, born in Samastipur in 2011, played for Bihar in the 2023 edition of the Cooch Behar Trophy. In one of the games against Jharkhand, he scored 151 runs off 128 balls, an innings that included 22 fours and 3 sixes. Suryavanshi also played in a quadrangular series involving India U19 A, India U19 B, England U19 and Bangladesh U19. He got scores of 53, 74, 0, 41 and 0 in the tournament.
Vaibhav’s father described his son as an explosive batter and had confidence that his son would one day showcase his batting skills for India. He also revealed that Rajasthan Royals had called him for trials in Nagpur in 2024.
“Rajasthan Royals had called him for trials in Nagpur. Vikram Rathour sir (batting coach) gave a match situation where he had to score 17 in an over. Bituwa ne 3 chakka mara. Trials mein aat chakka aur char chauwaa mara (He smashed three sixes. At trials, he hit eight sixes and four fours). He just wants to play cricket and nothing else. A few years back he loved Doremon, not any more,” the father claimed proudly.
Rahul Dravid’s Trust
Last week, head coach Rahul Dravid had spoken that the franchise would not be afraid to hand the youngster a debut in the ongoing season of the tournament. Dravid had expressed trust in the youngster and said good things about the batter’s progress with the Rajasthan team.
Vaibhav, on Saturday, makes his debut because of Sanju Samson’s injury. Vaibhav will face the likes of Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi if and when he comes out to bat for Rajasthan.
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