Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid believes the franchise could provide 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi with “a good environment” for his upcoming stint in the Indian Premier League (IPL). 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 (Suryavanshi) has some really good skills, so we thought this could be a good environment for him to grow in. Vaibhav just came to our trials and we were very happy with what he saw,” said Dravid in an IPL. video.
'Rajasthan Royals will be a good environment for Vaibhav Suryavanshi'
Head Coach Rahul Dravid speaks about the youngest Royal and the looks of the #RR team post the #TATAIPLAauction #TATAIPL | @rajasthanroyals pic.twitter.com/GuCNpWvgsD
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) November 26, 2024
Suryavanshi recently became the youngest batsman to score an international century after achieving the feat in a Youth Test for India Under-19 versus Australia U-19 in Chennai, with 104 in just 62 deliveries.
He also made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Rajasthan on Saturday, where he achieved a 6-ball 13.
Suryavanshi has impressed in the junior circuit and is yet to make a meaningful impact in first-class cricket as he averages just 10 after five matches and has a best score of 41.
He hails from Samastipur and made his debut last season at the age of 12 years and 284 days against Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy, when he became the youngest player in the history of the competition.
Moreover, Suryavanshi was just 12 years old when he played in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Bihar, amassing a total of almost 400 runs in just five matches.
“A big target for us in this auction was really bowlers”
Commenting further on RR's performance in the auction, Dravid claimed that while the side had managed to retain its core before the auction, their main aim was to get good bowlers here.
The latest additions to their pace department include 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 many of our core Indian batsmen. A big target for us in this auction was bowlers, which shows that we have fielded a very strong bowling attack. I think we have achieved that,” Dravid explained out.
“We've got some really good bowlers, some really good spinners, backed up by a really good Indian spinner in Karthikeya. So with someone like Jofra and his skills and unique skillset, backed that up with some left-handers.
“We like the change in angle, like the swing that both Faruqui and Mafaka bring to us. We really enjoyed the whole process, not just the pure auction.
“There are ten, nine other teams and they are all very well prepared and all very well planned. You have to be able to think carefully, you have to have a plan A, B, C, D. Yes, it was quite challenging at times, but it was a lot of fun and I really enjoyed it.”
(This story has not been edited by DailyExpertNews staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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