Vaibhav Suryavanshi: the 14-year-old whose IPL dream came true

NEW DELHI: Shy schoolboy Vaibhav Suryavanshi is in dreamland at just 14, having become the youngest player in Indian Premier League history and marking the occasion with an audacious first-ball six.

The fearless young left-hander is being touted as a superstar in the making after his instant impact opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, when he scored 34 off 20 balls in Jaipur including three sixes and two fours.

He finished on the losing side but stole the limelight as, at 14 years and 23 days old, he made his debut for Rajasthan after being bought for $130,500 in November´s player´s auction when he was still only 13.

An explosive free-scoring batsman, who can also bowl spin, Suryavanshi comes from India´s poorest state, Bihar, and his father is a farmer and part-time journalist, according to Indian media. The teenager´s rise has been swift.

He made his domestic debut aged 12 in the Ranji Trophy in January 2024, then was selected for India´s under-19 squad against a touring Australia team. He promptly hit a 58-ball century -- the second fastest ton in youth Tests after England´s Moeen Ali in 2005.

But it was the bidding war at the IPL player auction later that year that catapulted the youngster into global headlines. Now he finds himself among the cricketing elite in the world´s most popular and lucrative T20 tournament and has been lauded by former players after his first show.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan tagged a clip of Suryavanshi hitting his first ball for six off seasoned India seamer Shardul Thakur and wrote on X: “This is incredible.” “He is 14 but has the mind of a 30-year-old,” former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said.

“Vaibhav Suryavanshi looked confident against bowlers who have been bowling for years.” Former India batsman Suresh Raina said: “He will rule cricket in the future. Vaibhav Suryavanshi will show what he is capable of.”

Rajasthan coach and India great Rahul Dravid was impressed by the youngster in trials before the auction, saying that Suryavanshi had “some really good skills”. His father, Sanjeev, expressed astonishment after what happened in the auction.

“I am speechless... I don´t know what to say. It´s a massive thing for our family,” he was quoted as saying by The Indian Express newspaper. “I had a gut feeling that he would get picked, but never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that there would be a bidding war.”

He believes his son is at the right team to realise his potential. “Over the years Royals have groomed the youngsters. Be it Sanju Samson, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel or Riyan Parag, all are products of the Rajasthan Royals franchise,” said Sanjeev.

“I sincerely hope that Vaibhav will also follow the same path.” His state coach, Pramod Kumar, described him as a quiet boy who loves his cricket. “He is the kind of player who has come on Earth to play cricket, he settles for nothing else,” Kumar told The Times of India newspaper. “He hardly talks, but ask him about cricket and he can go on day and night.”

Born on March 27, 2011, Suryavanshi is the first IPL cricketer born after the tournament´s inception in 2008. Prayas Ray Barman was the previous youngest IPL player. He was 16 years and 157 days in 2019 when he made his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2019.