14yo prodigy becomes youngest-ever IPL player, hits six off first ball

At just 14, the youngest cricketer in Indian Premier League history has made his debut.

Opening batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi appeared as an impact substitute for Rajasthan Royals on Saturday and boldly scored 34 runs off 20 balls, including a first-ball six over extra cover. He hit three sixes and two boundaries overall until he was out stumped.

His stand of 85 with Yashasvi Jaiswal gave Rajasthan’s chase a great start but their team lost to the Lucknow Super Giants by two runs.

Suryavanshi replaced Rajasthan’s injured skipper Sanju Samson and created a unique record: Born in 2011, he became the first IPL cricketer born after the tournament’s inception in 2008.

Suryavanshi hails from Bihar and made headlines in the player auction; Rajasthan snapped him up for $1.1 million after an intense round of bidding.

The youngster has a triple hundred to his name in under-19 zonal cricket, but his five first-class matches have fetched meager returns.

The previous youngest IPL debutant was 16-year-old Prayas Burman in 2019 for Royal Challengers Bengaluru.

Mujeeb ur Rahman is the youngest international cricketer in the IPL, debuting at 17 in 2018 for Punjab Kings.