RR vs LSG: Meet Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 14, the youngest IPL debutant

Off the countless firsts in cricket that will blow everyone’s mind – 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi is set to become the youngest-ever cricketer in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Representing Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2025, Vaibhav is on the Impact Sub list and likely to bat against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on Saturday; aged 14 years and 23 days, Vaibhav will walk in the XI as an injury replacement for regular captain Sanju Samson.

Samson suffered an injury during the side’s previous game against the Delhi Capitals, retiring midway through his innings. Although Rajasthan’s head coach Rahul Dravid detailed Samson’s injury status ahead of the LSG game, saying he’s walking on thin ice regarding his fitness, visuals of Riyan Parag walking down for the toss confirmed Samson’s absence.

Deciding to bowl first after winning the toss, Parag revealed that Vaibhav would play Saturday’s encounter, coming in as Samson’s replacement; with that, he created history by becoming the youngest ever to play for an IPL team.

Meanwhile, Prayas Ray Barman, who made his IPL debut for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at 16 years and 157 days in 2019 against SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH), was the previous youngest cricketer in IPL.

“We were looking to bowl, it is a little bit warm under lights, should be better than the last time. Vaibhav, the youngster, comes in. It's been kinda tricky; we've been doing small bits right, but we haven't been able to put a collective performance together; we've been having honest chats as a team. We love playing here, we know the conditions well, hope we can put that to good use,” Parag said at the toss.

Vaibhav is living every kid’s dream in the country, playing his first IPL game as a 14-year-old.

Last year, he created history by becoming the youngest to bag an IPL deal at 13 years. At the IPL 2025 mega auction, Rajasthan Royals purchased the rookie left-hander for a whopping INR 1.1 crore.

Meanwhile, Suryavanshi first rose to the limelight after hitting his maiden triple hundred – an unbeaten 332, in the Randhir Verma Tournament, an Under-19 competition in Bihar. Thus far, he’s played five first-class matches, scoring 100 runs at 10.