‘Decision making group saw him…’: Sanju Samson reveals the reason why Rajasthan Royals used Rs. 1.10 crore on 13-year-old star player
13-year-old star player Vaibhav Suryavanshi was all over the headlines when Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals (RR) spend Rs. 1.20 crore to rope him in their side. Though the youngster is a very young player, RR team management has praised him a lot considering he is an uncapped player.
Months ahead of the 2025 edition of the tournament, RR skipper Sanju Samson revealed that the decision-making group saw him playing against Australia in the Chennai U-19 Test. Vaibhav had even broken the record for the fastest century by an Indian in the U19 level, where he played only 58 balls for the feat.
In a conversation with Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) legend Ab d Villiers, Sanju Samson shared that RR has a history of supporting youngsters. He even gave examples of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Riyan Parag, and Dhruv Jurel to further solidify his statement.
“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 in an interview.
“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,” the wicketkeeper-batter added.
Vaibhav was the part of India’s Under-19 Asia Cup 2024 team, where he scored 2 half-centuries in that tournament. He has played five first-class, one List , and one T20 match so far. He has 100 runs from 10 innings in Test cricket.
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