Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 13, becomes youngest player to be bought at IPL auction

Vaibhav Suryavanshi, on Monday, scripted history as the 13-year-old became the youngest-ever player to be sold at an Indian Premier League (IPL) auction. Suryavanshi, who hails from a small village in Bihar, was roped in by Rajasthan Royals for INR 1.10 crore on day 2 of the IPL mega auction at the Abadi Al Johar Arena in Jeddah.
Suryavanshi was presented during the accelerated round of the auction on Monday at a base price of INR 30 lakh. Rajasthan and Delhi Capitals found themselves in a bidding war before the former placed the highest bid, making the cricket prodigy a crorepati.
Born on March 27, 2011 in Bihar’s Tajpur village, Suryavanshi was just five days old when the MS Dhoni-led India lifted the ODI World Cup title at home.
His journey as a cricketer began at the age of four when his father Sanjeev, a farmer, noticed his passion for the game. While Sanjeev managed to build a small practice area in the backyard of his home for his son, once Suryavanshi was nine years old, he enrolled him at a cricket academy. He then quickly rose through the ranks in Bihar cricket and appeared in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy at the age of just 12, where he smashed 400 runs in just five matches.
Few months later, Suryavanshi was named in the India B U-19 squad for the quadrangular series in Andhra Pradesh in November 2023. He was later picked in the India A U-19 squad for the series against Bangladesh and England, a trial ground for the ICC U-19 World Cup 2024 squad. However, he failed to earn a spot following a poor campaign.
Suryavanshi quickly bounced back to impress Bihar selectors in an U-23 selection camp, which earned him a spot in the state’s Ranji Trophy squad. He eventually made his first-class debut in the 2023-24 red-ball tournament, in the Elite Group B clash against Mumbai in Patna in January 2024. He hence became the youngest player to make his first-class debut since 1986.
Suryavanshi’s latest exploit was back in October this year, when he smashed a ravishing 58-ball ton for India U-19 against Australia in Chennai. It was the fastest-ever hundred recorded by an Indian in U-19 Test cricket and the second-fastest overall, after England’s Moeen Ali, who had scored a 56-ball century against Sri Lanka in 2005.