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One of the standout moments of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 mega auction was the bidding war for 13-year-old batting wonderkid Vaibhav Suryavanshi. As it turned out, Suryavanshi became the youngest-ever player to be bought in an IPL auction, being sold to Rajasthan Royals (RR) for Rs 1.1 crore. RR captain Sanju Samson has now revealed the thought process that led to the franchise bidding for the 13-year-old, and stated that his purchase goes right in line with the philosophy and principles at Rajasthan Royals.
"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," Samson told South African cricket great AB de Villiers in an interview on the latter's YouTube channel.
"We felt like we have to have those kind of individuals in the side and see where they go," Samson added.
Suryavanshi has broken record after record ever since breaking onto the scene in 2024. Following the IPL 2025 auction, he starred for India U19 in the ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup 2024, where he finished with an average of 44 and a strike rate of 145.
He has also become the youngest-ever player to play in both the Ranji Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and will also break the record for being the youngest-ever IPL player should he play in the 2025 season.
Samson explained the logic of the RR thinktank in getting Suryavanshi.
"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," Samson said.
The one-time IPL champions will be coached by India legend Rahul Dravid in IPL 2025.