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A 13-year-old cricketer has been chosen by Rajasthan Royals to become the youngest player to win a contract in the IPL auction.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who is 13 years and 243 days old at the time of getting his contract, is a top-order left-handed hitter for Bihar and has sparked a bidding war between the Royals and Delhi Capitals.
The Royals, who won with a final bid of INR 1.10 crore (£103,552), will be hoping his talent translates upwards after seeing him shine for the India Under-19s.
Suryavanshi joins Jofra Archer with the Royals, after acquiring the England star for INR 12.5 crore (£1.2 million).
Suryavanshi scored a century against Australia Under-19s off just 58 balls after opening the batting in a four-day match in Chennai in September.
This innings confirmed Suryavanshi as the youngest player – at 13 years and 187 days – to score a century in youth cricket, surpassing the previous record held by current Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto – 14 years and 241 days.
“I had made my debut for India in the Under-19 ODI last year, so there was no such pressure,” he told Cricinfo. “I just had in mind the difference there would be between white and red ball cricket and I adapted to it straight away. The Australian bowlers were attacking me with short balls, so I also responded to them with aggressive cricket in the same style.
Suryavanshi also has a triple century to his name, Cricinfo reports, finishing unbeaten with 332 after playing in the Randhir Verma Under-19 ODI tournament in Bihar.
The teenager is believed to idolize West Indian legend Brian Lara and received advice from former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer to develop his game.
