Bihar cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi is the youngest player to be bought at an IPL auction, being picked up by the Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore (Rs 11 million) on Day 2 of the mega auction in Jeddah on Monday.
Now the 13 year old, whose official records state his birth date to be March 27, 2011, has come under the scanner for alleged age fraud.
A video of Vaibhav's interview to a local Hindi news channel in 2023, stating he'd be turning 14 on September 27, has gained traction on social media. By those calculations, Vaibhav would now be 15 years and two months old.
His father Sanjiv Suryavanshi has struck down these allegations.
'When he was 8-and-a-half years old he first appeared for a BCCI bone test. He has already played India U-19. We don't fear anyone. He can again undergo age test,' Sanjiv told PTI.
RR, Sanjiv said, approached his son for the trials ahead of the IPL auction and were impressed by Vaibhav's performance.
'Rajasthan Royals had called him for trials in Nagpur. Vikram Rathour sir (RR batting coach) gave a match situation where he had to score 17 in an over. Bituwa ne 3 chakka mara. Trials mein aat chakka aur char chauwaa mara (Son smashed three sixes. At trials, he hit eight sixes and four fours),' Sanjiv said.
'He just wants to play cricket and nothing else. A few years back he loved Doremon, not anymore,' he added.
Vaibhav became the youngest batter (13 years, 288 days) to register an international century (104 off 62 balls) in a Youth Test for India Under-19 against Australia U-19 in Chennai. He broke the previous record of 14 years and 241 days held by Bangladesh's current captain Najmul Hossain Shanto.
Vaibhav is currently in Dubai for the U-19 Asia Cup where India is scheduled to play Pakistan in their first match on November 30.
Vaibhav hails from Tajpur village in Bihar and began playing cricket at the age of nine. He was initially coached by his father.
He has so far featured in five Ranji Trophy games for Bihar since his first class debut against Mumbai earlier this year. He made his T20 debut against Rajasthan on Saturday, November 23, 2024.
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