Rajasthan Royals made a surprising move in the IPL 2025 Auction by signing the young Vaibhav Suryavanshi for IPL 2025. The name of this 13-year-old prodigy from Bihar has been going around in domestic and age-group cricket for the last few months.
Suryavanshi has been impressive with his natural strokeplay at such a young age and as a result, Rajasthan Royals made no delay in signing him for the upcoming season of Indian Premier League. Recently, RR captain Sanju Samson opened up on his historic signing.
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Sanju Samson reveals why Rajasthan Royals picked Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Sanju Samson made an appearance on the YouTube channel of the former South African cricketer AB de Villiers. When asked about Vaibhav Suryavanshi, he heaped praises on the youngster and lauded his talent.
Samson claimed that Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s whirlwind hundred in the unofficial Under-19 Test match against Australia in Chennai tilted the scales in his favor. According to Samson, Suryavanshi was observed closely by the Rajasthan Royals management during his knock and they decided to include him in the team.
“I have seen his highlights. All of the people in the Rajasthan decision-making group saw him bat at the U-19 Test match vs Australia in Chennai, where he scored a hundred off 60-70 (58) balls,” Samson said.
“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,” he added.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s list of records
Vaibhav Suryavanshi was signed for INR 1.10 Crore by Rajasthan Royals. He made his India Under-19 debut in the Youth Test match against Australia Under-19 in September 2024. In just his first match, he smashed a cracking hundred off just 58 balls.
He was finally run out for 104 off 62 balls. The left-handed opener smashed 14 fours and 4 sixes during his knock. Recently, Suryavanshi became the youngest player to make his List A debut at the age of 13 years and 269 days. He is also the youngest player to play Under-19 cricket and Ranji Trophy.
Sanju Samson speaks on RR’s strategy to back youngsters
Further speaking on Rajasthan Royals’ long history, Sanju Samson claimed that the franchise relies on young talents and keeps on producing world-class cricketers. He cited the example of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel as some of the players who made their RR debuts at a young age and are serving Indian cricket currently.
“But 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 now is a rockstar of the Indian team. There is Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel – they all fall under that line,” Sanju Samson explained.
“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,” he added.
Rajasthan Royals have a no. of young and exciting players in their squad. They have formed a solid squad that can serve them well in the future. The IPL 2025 will begin on March 14 and the final is scheduled for May 25 next year.