Despite yet another narrow defeat in the Indian Premier for Rajasthan Royals, a ray of hope in the form of Vaibhav Suryavanshi took birth at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium against Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday. Making his IPL debut, the teenager left the crowd awestruck with a six on his first-ever ball in the competition. Facing LSG’s Shardul Thakur, the youngest ever IPL debutant smashed his bowler for a six over cover, nearly hitting the TATA Curvv.ev vehicle on display near the stands.
With an impressive knock of 34 from 20 deliveries, the youngster exuded confidence that surpassed his age. With every shot of his on Saturday, the debutant attracted praise from all sides, with big names like Google CEO Sundar Pichai, English cricketer Sam Billings and former Australian International Damien Fleming also expressing their bewilderment.
Coming in for the injured Sanju Samson, Suryavanshi’s debut made Pichai tweet, “Woke up to watch an 8th grader play in the IPL!!!! What a debut!”. His two fours, three sixes and strike rate of 170 drew comparisons to iconic Indian batsman Yuvraj Singh.
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Lauding RR’s trust in fielding a 14-year-old in an IPL match, Sanjay Manjrekar told JioHotsar, “He impressed everyone. When he got out, it looked like he might cry—and at his age, that would’ve been completely natural. Full credit to Rajasthan Royals for trusting him, giving him the best possible platform at the top of the order, even with another left-hander alongside. They’ve truly unveiled a new wonder boy”.
English cricketer Sam Billings, who currently plies his trade in the Pakistan Super League, took to X, as he gave Suryavanshi the biggest compliment of them all. “This is utterly absurd!!!!! 14! First ball Look at that bat swing too, like prime Yuvi… “, posted Billings on his X handle.
The praise for the rookie did not end there, as former Indian cricketer Ajay Jadeja insisted that the youngster’s trajectory only points upward. “In those 20 balls, Vaibhav showed everything—fearlessness on the first ball, then maturity in how he paced his innings once Jaiswal took over. At 14, just being out there is huge, and to get 30-odd is remarkable”. Even though Rajasthan’s No 12 was reduced to tears after losing his wicket, his composure to get back with his side moments later also struck a chord with the audience.
Former Australian pacer and International Damien Fleming was rather shocked at the debutant’s age, as evident as it was from his Tweet, “Vaibhav on @IPL Debut . Hits first ball for 6…..Over Cover 14 years of age”.
Purchased for 1.1 crore in the mega auction last year, Suryavanshi is also the youngest player to sign an IPL contract.
