An audacious first-ball six by a 14-year-old, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, on his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut earned him huge praise all around. One among those admirers was Sundar Pichai, the chief executive of tech giant Google.
“Woke up to watch an 8th grader play in the IPL!!!! What a debut!” Sundar Pichai posted on X, with a video of the youngest player in IPL history hitting the first ball he faced for the maximum.
Woke up to watch an 8th grader play in the IPL!!!! What a debut! https://t.co/KMR7TfnVmL
— Sundar Pichai (@sundarpichai) April 19, 2025
The southpaw is being touted as a superstar in the making after his instant impact opening the batting for Rajasthan Royals on Saturday, when he scored 34 off 20 balls in Jaipur, including three sixes and two fours.
He finished on the losing side but stole the limelight as, at 14 years and 23 days old, he made his debut for Rajasthan after being bought for $130,500 in November’s player’s auction when he was still only 13.
Suryavanshi, a free-scoring batsman who can also bowl spin, comes from Bihar.
The teenager’s rise has been rapid.
The cricketer made his domestic debut aged 12 in the Ranji Trophy in January 2024, then was selected for India’s under-19 squad against a touring Australia team.
He promptly hit a 58-ball century — the second fastest ton in youth Tests after England’s Moeen Ali in 2005.
But it was the bidding war at the IPL player auction later that year that catapulted the youngster into global headlines.
Now he finds himself among the cricketing elite in the world’s most popular and lucrative T20 tournament and has been praised by former players after his first show.
“He is 14 but has the mind of a 30-year-old,” former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar said.
Suryavanshi’s state coach, Pramod Kumar, described him as a quiet boy who loves his cricket.
Born on March 27, 2011, Suryavanshi is the first IPL cricketer born after the tournament’s inception in 2008.
Prayas Ray Barman was the previous youngest IPL player. He was 16 years and 157 days in 2019 when he made his debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2019.
(With AFP inputs)
