Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s IPL contract with Rajasthan Royals: How 13-year-old Bihar boy landed in 2008 champions’ squad

Happiness knew no bounds at the Vaibhav Suryavanshi household after the 13-year-old became the youngest ever to get an Indian Premier League (IPL) contract on Monday during the mega auction in Jeddah. Starting at a base price of ₹30 lakh, the Bihar prodigy sparked a bidding war between Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals before eventually landing with the 2008 champions for ₹1.10 crore.

Suryavanshi, who made his T20 debut for Bihar in the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 (SMAT) tournament on Monday, has been in the headlines all through the year. He made his Ranji Trophy debut at just 12 years and 284 days against Mumbai, which itself is a record, thus becoming the youngest player in the tournament's history.

The southpaw was only 12 years old when he scored nearly 400 runs in just five matches for Bihar in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.

What made Royals invest in Suryavanshi?

According to his father, Sanjiv Suryavanshi, the Rajasthan Royals called his son for trials in Nagpur. Rajasthan Royals batting coach Vikram Rathour gave Suryavanshi a match situation where the youngster had to score 17 runs in an over.

The youngster hit three sixes in an over to seal the deal. Overall, Suryavanshi hit eight sixes and four fours at the trials, which impressed the Rajasthan Royals support staff, who certainly saw a star in the making in the teenager.

Unlike the other prodigies in the recent past, Suryavanshi is yet to play a significant knock in first-class cricket despite creating ripples in the junior circuit. He averages only 10 in five matches with a best of 41.

Earlier this year, Suryavanshi made scouts sit up and take notice when he scored a 62-ball 104 for India U-19 against Australia U-19 in a Youth Test match at home. In the process, he became the youngest Indian batter to score an international century.

In his SMAT debut, Suryavanshi made a six-ball 13 before falling to Rajasthan pacer Deepak Chahar, who went to Mumbai Indians for a staggering ₹9.25 crore.