'Decision-making group saw him bat at U19 Test match vs Australia...': Sanju Samson reveals why Rajasthan Royals spent 1.1 crore on 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi

13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to get picked in the IPL 2025 mega auction. Rajasthan Royals roped him in for Rs 1.1 crore.

Sports Tak

• Sun • 22 Dec 2024

Rajasthan Royals captain Sanju Samson; Vaibhav Suryavanshi in action.

Highlights:

Sanju Samson said that Rajasthan Royals always back young talent.

Samson said that the decision-making group saw Vaibhav Suryavanshi batting in Chennai against Australia's Under-19 team.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi scored two half-centuries in the Under-19 Asia Cup.

13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi made headlines as he was roped in for Rs 1.1 crore by Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025. While the young Suryavanshi is still a raw product, the RR team management splurged on him considering that he is an uncapped player. Months ahead of the IPL 2025, RR skipper Sanju Samson revealed that the decision-making group saw him batting against Australia in Chennai in U19 Test. He broke the record for fastest hundred by an Indian in U19 Test taking just 58 balls.

Samson in a conversation with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend AB de Villiers said that RR has a history of backing young talent. He gave examples of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel to justify the decision to rope in Suryavanshi.

"I have seen his highlights. All of the people in the Rajasthan decision-making group saw him bat at the U19 Test match vs Australia in Chennai, where he scored a hundred of 60-70 balls. 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," Sanju Samson told AB de Villiers in an interview.

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"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. 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," the wicketkeeper-batter added.

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Suryavanshi's numbers so far

Suryavanshi was a part of India's Under-19 Asia Cup 2024 team as well. He scored two half-centuries in the tournament. India lost to Bangladesh in the final. He has played five first-class, one List A and one T20 game so far. He has 100 runs from 10 innings in red-ball cricket. In Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2024, he scored just 13 runs from one inning. The Bihar batter made his List A debut in Vijay Hazare Trophy 2024 on December 21 and got out for a single-digit score against Madhya Pradesh.