Prayas Ray Barman is the youngest player to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history. That record has stayed with him since 2019. That won’t be the case now, though. That’s because Rajasthan Royals (RR) bought 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi at the IPL 2025 auction. If not in the upcoming season, the southpaw will make his debut in the next couple of years and break Barman’s long-standing record.
Samson’s reveals why RR bought Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Sanju Samson, the captain of the franchise, has revealed what he and the RR management thought about before procuring the talented teenager. “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 off 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 kinds of individuals in the side and see where they go,” Samson told AB de Villiers.
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RR to make Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a champion
But how did RR decide to invest in Vaibhav Suryavanshi? At 13, his body isn’t developed enough to go against international stars. One can’t even talk about the mental aspect of things. What Rajasthan Royals thought about was the future. They have made a habit of finding players and making them into stars.
Samson cited the example of three players who are currently representing Team India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel. All three are under 24 and were retained by Rajasthan for the IPL 2025 season. They have molded all three, and right now two of them are part of India’s Test team, while the other could become a mainstay in white-ball 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 rock star of the Indian team. There is Riyan Parag and 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,” Samson added.
