The 13-year-old cricketer, Vaibhav Suryavanshi created history on November 26, 2024, when he became the youngest player to earn an IPL deal worth Rs. 1.10 crore from Rajasthan Royals.
IPL 2025 auction ended on November 26, 2024, and the event witnessed a series of shockers. From Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) splashing Rs. 27 crore for Rishabh Pant, making him the most expensive player ever in IPL's history, to Punjab Kings (PK) signing Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, IPL 2025 auction was quite entertaining. Hours before the end of the IPL 2025 auction on November 26, 2024, just when everyone thought there would be no more surprises, a youngster from Bihar changed it all.
Rajasthan Royals finished third in the IPL 2024 and are inspired to break the curse in the upcoming IPL 2025. For the uninitiated, Rajasthan Royals won the IPL's inaugural season in 2008, but since then, they have yet to win a single trophy. RR has reached the playoffs only five times in the last fourteen editions. However, they're pumped up for the fifteenth edition of IPL as they bought a series of notable players in the IPL 2025 auction.
Some notable names include Jofra Archer, Wanindu Hasaranga, Nitish Rana, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqui, and more. On the second day of the IPL 2025 auction, apart from all these noteworthy deals, Rajasthan Royals (RR) broke the headlines when they decided to spend Rs. 1.10 crore in order to sign a 13-year-old cricketer named Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The young batter is from Bihar and is now officially the youngest player ever in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL).
After Rajasthan Royals secured Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the President of Bihar Cricket Association (BCA), Rakesh Kumar Tiwary, praised the youngster on becoming the youngest player ever to play in IPL. Throwing some light on Vaibhav's journey from Bihar to IPL stardom, Rakesh Kumar admitted that his success story will inspire youngsters across the nation. He said:
"Vaibhav Suryavanshi's incredible achievement at such a young age fills us with immense pride. The Bihar Cricket Association has always believed in nurturing young talent, and Vaibhav's success highlights the cricketing potential in our state. We are confident he will continue to shine and inspire aspiring cricketers across Bihar and beyond. I congratulate Vaibhav and his family."
In a conversation with PTI (Press Trust of India), Sanjiv Suryavanshi talked about Rajasthan Royals' massive bid for his son, Vaibhav Suryavanshi and explained how it happened. Opening about his son's value at the auction, Sanjiv revealed that Vaibhav's base price was Rs. 30 lakh, and Delhi Capitals was the team that made the opening bid for him. After this, Rajasthan Royals entered into the scene with Rs. 35 lakhs and eventually sealed the deal at Rs. 1.10 crore.
When asked about Vaibhav Suryavanshi's trial at Rajasthan Royals, the young cricketer's father, Sanjiv Suryavanshi revealed that his son was told to hit 17 runs in six balls. Sharing how his son scored three sixes and completed the target quite smoothly. In the entire trial, Vaibhav had scored a total of eight sixes and four fours. The solid performance convinced the selectors, and that's how everything had happened.
In the same interview with PTI, Sanjiv Suryavanshi also talked about his son, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, becoming a crorepati at the age of 13. The doting father clearly stated that his son wasn't interested in the monetary part of this deal with Rajasthan Royals. Sharing how his son only wants to play cricket professionally, Sanjiv clearly stated that Vaibhav focuses on making his mark at the IPL 2024 for his team, Rajasthan Royals.
Sanjiv Suryavanshi also revealed that a few years ago, his son, Vaibhav Suryavanshi used to watch the famous cartoon, Doraemon, but now he is a professional cricketer. Opening up about the same, he said:
"He just wants to play cricket and nothing else. A few years back he loved Doremon, not anymore. My son has worked hard. At the age of 8 years, he excelled at U-16 district trials. I would take him for his cricket coaching to Samastipur and then take him back."
Amidst all the buzz around Bihar's Vaibhav Suryavanshi, some reports claimed that the youngster is 15, not 13. However, in a conversation with PTI, Vaibhav's father smashed the rumours by stating that his son was eight and a half years old when he appeared for BCCI's official bone test. After this, he has already played under-19. The doting father clearly stated that these rumours cannot scare him and his son. Not only this, Sanjiv also added that if necessary, his son can undergo a bone test again. He said:
"When he was 8 and half years old he first appeared for a BCCI bone test. He has already played India U-19. We don't fear anyone. He can again undergo age test."
In the same interview with PTI, Sanjiv Suryavanshi also revealed that he had sold his land in order to support his son, Vaibhav Suryavanshi's dream of becoming a professional cricketer. The doting father admitted that even today, they are facing financial issues, but everything has paid off now that Rajasthan Royals have selected his son. It's beautiful how Vaibhav has repaid his father's immense faith in him, who didn't think twice before selling his farmland to support his cricketing fees. We hope Vaibhav makes his mark in IPL 2025.
What do you think about Vaibhav Suryavanshi becoming the youngest player to play in the IPL? Let us know.
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