Sanju Samson reacts to RR's INR 1.10 crore bid for 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi: 'Yes, we want to win IPL, but...'

Rajasthan Royals skipper Sanju Samson recently shed light on the franchise's decision to splurge Rs. 1.10 crore on 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the IPL 2025 auction. Samson highlighted the teenager’s "something special" talent, which caught the eye of RR’s decision-makers and ultimately led to the young prodigy being signed up. RR bought Vaibhav Suryavanshi for INR 1.10 crore(Files)

Suryavanshi, who rose to prominence with a stunning knock of 104 against Australia U19 in an unofficial Test match in October, has been generating buzz across Indian cricket. The match, played in Chennai, saw the teen batter display an array of powerful strokes, hitting 14 boundaries and four sixes, leading India to a two-wicket victory.

His performance stood out as no other batter reached three figures in the game.

Samson, speaking in an interview with South Africa great AB de Villiers, recalled his first exposure to Suryavanshi's brilliance. “I have seen his highlights,” said Samson.

“All of the people in the Rajasthan decision-making group saw him bat at the U19 Test match vs Australia in Chennai, where he scored a hundred off 60-70 balls. The shots that he played there, it felt like that’s something special, and we felt like we have to have those kinds of individuals in the side and see where they go.”

RR's ‘tradition’

Samson also stressed that Rajasthan Royals has a long-standing tradition of nurturing young talent and turning them into stars.

“Rajasthan Royals have a history of doing this. They find out talents and make them champions. For example, there is Yashasvi Jaiswal, who came to RR as a youngster and now is a rockstar of the Indian team. There is Riyan Parag, Dhruv Jurel – they all fall under that line. I think RR loves that kind of thing – yes, we want to win the IPL, but we also want to make sure that we are giving enough champions to Indian cricket," said Samson.

RR’s commitment to fostering young talent has been a cornerstone of their strategy, and they are excited to see how Suryavanshi develops. “It will be exciting to meet him,” Samson added.

RR fought off stiff competition from Delhi Capitals to secure Suryavanshi’s signature. After the auction, RR CEO Jake Lush McCrum revealed that the teenager had impressed during trials at the franchise's high-performance center in Nagpur. “He’s been to our high-performance center in Nagpur, he had trials there and really impressed our coaching set-up there,” McCrum said. “He’s an incredible talent, and of course, you’ve got to have the confidence so he can step up to the IPL level.”

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