While Rishabh Pant emerged as the most expensive player in the history of Indian Premier League, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 13-year-old cricketer from Bihar, entered history books as he became the youngest-ever player to be bought at an IPL auction.
Rajasthan Royals bought Suryavanshi for ₹1.10 crore on the second day of the IPL 2025 Mega Auction held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. RR were involved in a bidding war for the player with Delhi Capitals, who pulled out after the former bid ₹1.10 crore for the teenager.
Born in Samastipur, he began his cricket journey by training at a local academy before moving to advanced training facilities in Patna under coach Brajesh Jha. His dedication and performances in regional tournaments, including a double century in the Shyamal Sinha U16 Trophy, brought him recognition within the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA).
Vaibhav has already achieved several milestones, including becoming the youngest player in Bihar’s Ranji Trophy squad and scoring consistently in national-level youth tournaments. His selection for the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and subsequent performances have marked him as a future star.
Vaibhav, who debuted for Bihar when he was 12, recently made a 58-ball century against the Australian U-19 team in a four-day game in Chennai. Vaibhav made his first-class debut in Bihar’s Ranji Trophy 2023-24 Elite Group B clash against Mumbai in Patna in January this year.
The second day of the auction saw bidding war between the teams for Indian pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Akash Deep and Mukesh Kumar, and South Africa’s Marco Jansen. Bhuvi was the costliest on the second of the auction as Royal Challengers Bangalore paid ₹10.75 crore for him. Chahar got ₹9.25 crore from Mumbai Indians while Akash Deep and Mukesh got ₹8 crore each from Lucknow Super Giants and Delhi Capitals, respectively. Overall, the teams spent nearly ₹600 crore to acquire the players they wanted during the two day auction.