Sanju Samson, captain of Rajasthan Royals (RR), has revealed why the franchise had splurged on 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the recent IPL 2025 mega auction. Suryavanshi became the youngest cricketer to be bought in the IPL history ever, with RR paying INR 1.10 Crores.
Earlier in October, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his debut with the quickest century scored by an Indian in the U19 Test. played his first red-ball encounter for the India Under-19 team at the MA Chidambaram Stadium, smashing his century in just 58 balls.
Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali, who scored a hundred runs off of 56 balls for England Under-19 in 2005, was the only player to surpass Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s 58-ball score.
In a devastating innings, Vaibhav struck 14 boundaries and four sixes. After hitting 104 off of just 62 deliveries, he was run out. In the 2025 mega-auction, Rajasthan purchased Suryavanshi for Rs 1.10 crore in recognition of his valiant efforts.
Sanju Samson explains reasons why Vaibhav Suryavanshi was bought by RR
Speaking on AB de Villiers’ YouTube channel, Samson said that the management watched Suryavanshi bat against Australia in the U19 Test match. Sanju spoke highly of the player and said that Rajasthan had a verified history of taking in young talent and nurturing them into world-beaters.
“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 on his YouTube channel.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to make his List A debut at the age of 13 years and 269 days. He is also the youngest player to play Under-19 cricket and Ranji Trophy.
RR has a history of buying young players and nurturing young players: Sanju Samson
Speaking further about the Rajasthan Royals’ lengthy history, Sanju Samson asserted that the team continues to produce world-class cricket players by relying on youthful talent.
He gave the examples of Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Yashasvi Jaiswal, who all made their RR debuts at a young age and are still playing Indian cricket.
“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,” Sanju said.
The IPL 2025 will begin on March 14 and the final is scheduled for May 25 next year.
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