Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Sanju Samson hailed Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the youngest signing in the history of the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the age of 13, hailing his six-hitting ability and saying that the batter looks ready to “land a few punches”. During the IPL mega-auction last year, one of the biggest surprises that emerged was Suryavanshi becoming a Royal for Rs 1.1 crore. Born on March 27, 2011, in Bihar, Vaibhav is the youngest player on the list. He made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024 at just 12 years and 284 days old. Last year, he was part of India U19’s match against Australia in Chennai, where he smashed a 58-ball century.
He was also the seventh-highest run-getter in the ACC Under 19 Asia Cup 2024-25. He scored 176 runs in 5 matches in the tournament with a highest score of 76*.
Speaking to JioHotstar as a part of the ‘SuperStar’ programme, Samson said that young players today do not lack confidence and understand the brand of Indian cricket that needs to be played.
“For me, rather than giving advice, I prefer observing first–how a youngster wants to play his cricket, what he likes, and what kind of support he needs from me. Then, I work my way around that. Vaibhav looks very confident; he was hitting sixes out of the ground at the academy. People were already talking about his power-hitting. What else can you ask for? It is all about understanding his strengths, backing him, and being there for him like an elder brother,” he added.
Sanju feels that Vaibhav, who has already made his T20 debut for Bihar during last year’s Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, looks ready to contribute.
“The key is to keep him in the best shape and provide a relaxed environment, which is something the Rajasthan Royals (RR) is known for. We ensure a positive atmosphere in the dressing room and back our players. You never know–he might end up playing for India in a couple of years. I feel he is ready for the IPL. He looks capable of landing a few solid punches here and there. Let us see what the future holds,” he added.
RR will kickstart their IPL 2025 campaign against last year’s finalists Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on March 23.
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