'Vaibhav just came to our trials and we were really happy with what he saw.'
Head coach Rahul Dravid feels believes Rajasthan Royals would be able to provide 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi with 'a good environment' when he joins the team for IPL 2025 next year.
The eighth standard student from Bihar's Samastipur was picked up by the franchise for Rs. 1.10 crore, making him the youngest cricketer to earn an IPL contract.
"I think he has got some really good skills, so we thought it might be a good environment for him to grow in. Vaibhav just came to our trials and we were really happy with what he saw," said Dravid in an IPL video.
Suryavanshi recently became the youngest batter to score an international century, having attained the feat in a Youth Test for India Under-19 versus Australia U-19 in Chennai, smashing 104 from just 62 deliveries.
He also made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy versus Rajasthan on Saturday, managing a 6-ball 13.
Having made an impact in the junior circuit, Suryavanshi is yet to play a meaningful knock in first class cricket, as he averages only 10 after five matches and has the best score of 41.
He hails from Samastipur and debuted at the age of 12 years and 284 days versus Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last season, as he became the youngest player in the competition's history.
Also, Suryavanshi was only 12 years old when playing in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Bihar, aggregating nearly 400 runs in just five engagements.
Commenting further on RR's outing in the auction, Dravid asserted that while the side had managed to retain its core before the auction, their primary target was to get good bowlers.
Among the latest additions to their pace department are Akash Madhwal, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ashok Sharma and Kwena Maphaka.
As for the spinners, they have picked up Kumar Kartikeya Singh and Maheesh Theekshana, while Wanindu Hasaranga and Yudhvir Charak have come in as all-rounders.
"We came into this auction having retained a lot of our core Indian batsmen. A big target for us in this auction really was bowlers, showing that we did a really strong bowling attack. I think we achieved that," Dravid explained.
"We got some really good bowlers, a couple of really good spinners, backed it up with a really good Indian spinner in Karthikeya. So, having someone like Jofra and his skills and unique skills, backed that up with a couple of left-handers.
"We like the change in angle, like the swing that both Faruqui and Mafaka bring for us. We really enjoyed the whole process, not only just the pure auction.
"There are ten, nine other teams and they're all really well prepared and all come really well planned. You've got to be able to think on your feet, you've got to have plan A, B, C, D. Yeah, it was quite challenging at times, but it was great fun and I really enjoyed it."
