At the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his debut for the Rajasthan Royals against the Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, becoming him the youngest player in the history of the Indian Premier League at the age of 14 years and 23 days. The adolescent was included in the hosts’ substitute list and batted during the chase.
For the India U-19 opener, 2024 has been a transformative year. When Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest player to achieve an international century in October, he made history. In the India Under-19 Youth Test match against Australia in Chennai, Vaibhav hit 104 runs off of 62 balls.
A month later, Vaibhav Suryavanshi sparked a bidding battle between the Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Capitals, with the former eventually acquiring him for a respectable Rs 1.1 crore, making him the youngest player to be signed in IPL history.
List of youngest IPL debutants
| No | Player Name | Age (On April 19) | Team Name |
| 1 | Vaibhav Suryavanshi | 14 years, 23 days | Rajasthan Royals |
| 2 | P Ray Barman | 16 years, 257 days | Royal Challnegers Bengaluru |
| 3 | Mujeeb Ur Rahman | 1 7 years, 11 days | Punjab Kings |
| 4 | Riyan Parag | 17 years, 152days | Rajasthan Royals |
| 5 | Pradeep Sangwan | 17 years 179 days | Punjab Kings |
The Royals’ strategy of supporting up-and-coming talent, such as they did with Ravindra Jadeja, giving him his IPL debut at the age of 19 under Shane Warne in the 2008 IPL, or giving Sanju Samson his IPL debut under Rahul Dravid in 2013 at the age of 18, is perfectly aligned with their decision to sign Suryavanshi.
For the past two years, Vaibhav’s development has been closely observed by his guru, VVS Laxman, who is currently the head of the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
According to the Indian Express, Laxman suggested Vaibhav Suryavanshi to Rahul Dravid, the head coach of the Rajasthan Royals.
