At the age of just 14, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made history by becoming the youngest cricketer to feature in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and announced his arrival with a six off the first ball. Playing for the Rajasthan Royals, the left-hander was selected for the clash with Lucknow Super Giants in place of Royals captain Sanju Samson and opened the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal as they chased a target of 181. He began in style, smashing the very first ball from Shardul Thakur over extra-cover for six before hitting two more maximums in a knock of 34 off just 20 balls, as he shared an 85-run opening partnership with Jaiswal. Eventually he was stumped by Rishabh Pant off the bowling of South Africa's Aiden Markram and looked distraught as he left the field, although he undoubtedly confirmed that his future in cricket is very, very bright. But who exactly is this teenage star and how has he risen to prominence so quickly? Born in the state of Bihar, in north-east India in 2011 and growing up in the city of Samastipur, Suryavanshi quickly marked himself out as something of a cricketing prodigy. He was only four years old when his father, Sanjeev Suryavanshi, a farmer, noticed him smashing a plastic ball around with great power and timing. By the age of 13 he was already representing India under-19s and scored a century against Australia under-19s off just 58 balls when opening the batting during a four-day game in Chennai in September 2024. That innings confirmed Suryavanshi as the youngest player – at 13 years and 187 days – to score a century in international youth cricket, surpassing the previous record held by Bangladesh's current captain Najmul Hossain Shanto, who notched a ton at the age of 14 years and 241 days. “I had made my debut for India in the Under-19 ODI last year, so there was no such pressure,” he told Cricinfo. “I just had in mind how much difference there would be between white and red ball cricket and I adapted myself to it immediately. Australian bowlers were attacking me with short balls, so I also replied to them with aggressive cricket in the same style.” Suryavanshi also has a triple-century to his name in domestic one-day youth cricket, finishing unbeaten on 332 after featuring in the Randhir Verma Under-19 ODI tournament in Bihar. Those exploits meant he was a highly sought-after commodity when it came to the IPL draft ahead of the 2025 season, which took place towards the end of 2024. A bidding war ensued between the Royals and Delhi Capitals, with the Rajasthan-based side winning his signature for a price of 11 million India rupees (around £103,000 at the time). At the age of just 13 years and 243 days when landing his contract, he smashed the previous record of the youngest player to earn an IPL deal and is now the youngest person to play in the competition after his exploits against the Super Giants. The previous youngest IPL debutant was Prayas Rai Burman, who featured in 2019 at 16 years and 154 days for Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Suryavanshi has since hit U19 half-centuries against Sri Lanka and UAE as well as 71 off 42 balls for Bihar against Broda in India's domestic 50-over competition. The teenager has made no secret of the fact that he idolises West Indies batting great Brian Lara, while he has also received advice from former India opener Wasim Jaffer. "I met Wasim Jaffer for the first time in the four-nation Under-19 tournament last year (2023),” Suryavanshi explained in an interview. “He was the coach of the Bangladesh team then. He taught me a lot of batting tricks and then told me to talk to him whenever I needed anything. Since then, I keep talking to him about my batting after every match and he always helps me.” Unsurprisingly, his IPL exploits garnered plenty of attention throughout the cricket world and has earned Suryavanshi comparisons to greats of the sport. England international Sam Billings, for example, posted on social media that he was reminded of India white-ball legend Yuvraj Singh. “This is utterly absurd!!!!! 14! First ball Look at that bat swing too, like prime Yuvi… wow,” Billings wrote on X (formerly Twitter). One of Suryavanshi’s first coaches Manish Ojha agrees with that assessment. In an interview with Times Of India, he said: "He’s a fearless batter. He has said time and again that he admires Brian Lara. But he’s a mix of Yuvraj Singh and Brian Lara. His aggression is just like Yuvraj’s.” Another India legend, Rahul Dravid, is the current head coach of the Royals and Ojha explains the close relationship between coach and young player. “He’s a kid,” added Ojha. “He’s emotional. He always talks about Rahul Dravid and his support. He looks up to him like a God. Dravid is always there to support him.” While Suryavanshi has a huge amount of natural talent, he has also honed his game through coaching and has made sacrifices to improve his athleticism. “Mutton is not allowed for him as per the instructions,” Ojha explained. “Pizza has been removed from his diet chart. He is a kid, so he used to love pizza a lot. But he doesn't eat it anymore. “When we used to give him mutton, no matter how much we gave, he would finish all of it.”