‘We want to make sure we are giving enough champions to Indian cricket’- Sanju Samson on RR signing 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi

In November, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) attracted attention when they paid INR 1.10 crore to acquire 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 super auction. The Bihar batter’s success in the domestic circuit has caused a stir in Indian cricket.

The captain of the Rajasthan Royals, Sanju Samson, gave an explanation for why the first champions chose to sign Suryavanshi. The Kerala batsman-wicketkeeper claimed that after seeing Suryavanshi’s 58-ball century against the Australians in a Chennai U-19 Test match, the Rajasthan think tank was amazed by his skill.

“His highlights are visible to me. He batted in the U19 Test match against Australia in Chennai, when he scored a century off of 60–70 balls, and everyone in the Rajasthan decision-making committee witnessed it. Sanju Samson told AB de Villiers in an interview that “the shots that he played there 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 stated that in addition to winning titles, the Royals as a team aim to develop young players who will eventually play for Indian cricket.

After making important contributions to the Rajasthan-based team, he named Dhruv Jurel, Riyan Parag, and Yashasvi Jaiswal as players who had excelled in Indian colours.

However, the Rajasthan Royals have a track record of achieving this. They identify talents and elevate them to champion status. A rock star of the Indian team, for instance, is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who joined RR as a young player. They all fall under that category, including Riyan Parag and Dhruv Jurel. I believe RR enjoys that kind of activity. While we do want to win the IPL, we also want to ensure that Indian cricket has enough champions. “It will be thrilling to meet him,” he continued.

Suryavanshi made his List A debut on Saturday, December 21, playing for Bihar against Madhya Pradesh, making him the youngest player to do so. Suryavanshi broke the record set by Ali Akbar, who made his List A debut for Vidarbha during the 1999–2000 season at the age of 14 years and 51 days. Akbar was 13 years and 269 days old. At the Under-19 level, he is already the youngest Indian to play and make his Ranji Trophy debut.