Ridiculous Young! An IPL Debut at 14 Years …. Vaibash!-by Varun Shetty
Source:Thuppahis
When Vaibhav Suryavanshi, the left-hand batter from Bihar, made his IPL debut for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants on Saturday, he broke the record for being the league’s youngest debutant by more than two years.
Here are six of the youngest in the tournament’s 18-season history:
1 Vaibhav Suryavanshi – 14 years, 23 days (vs Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2025)
On Saturday, the left-hand opener came into the Rajasthan Royals (RR) XI to replace the injured captain Sanju Samson. He first made national headlines at 13 with a 58-ball century against Australia Under-19. That knock made Suryavanshi the youngest player – at 13 years and 187 days – to score a century in youth cricket. Suryavanshi was picked up by RR for INR 1.1 crore after impressing at their high-performance center in Nagpur.
For India Under-19, he cracked a 58-ball century in a four-day game against Australia Under-19, while his 176 runs at an average of 44 took India to the final of the Under-19 Asia Cup in 2024. He also has a triple-century to his name – an unbeaten 332 – in the Randhir Verma Tournament, an U-19 competition in Bihar.
2 Prayas Ray Barman – 16 years, 157 days (vs Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2019)
He was picked by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for INR 1.5 crore after topping Bengal’s wicket charts in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Just minutes before the toss against Sunrisers Hyderabad, head coach Gary Kirsten told him he was playing. At 16 years and 157 days, he became the youngest IPL debutant at the time. Bowling to Jonny Bairstow and David Warner on a flat pitch in the afternoon sun, he conceded 56 in four overs. It remains the only IPL game of his career, and since 2022 he has played only three domestic games.
3 Mujeeb Ur Rahman – 17 years, 11 days (vs Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2018)
The Afghan mystery spinner made history when he debuted for Kings XI Punjab in 2018. He made an instant impact after being introduced in the powerplay, trapping Colin Munro lbw with his first ball . His unorthodox bowling had already earned him global attention before this game, and he repaid the faith, bowling a full four-over spell for figures of 2 for 28. This season, he was a late replacement addition to the Mumbai Indians squad.
4 Riyan Parag – 17 years, 152 days (vs Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2019)
The first IPL appearance for the allrounder from Assam was a thriller remembered for Mitchell Santner’s last-ball six and MS Dhoni’s infamous outburst against the umpires. In his debut season, Parag also became the youngest to hit an IPL fifty. Since then, he has become a regular for RR, retained continuously over the years, and is the squad’s current vice-captain.
5 Pradeep Sangwan – 17 years, 179 days (vs Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2008)
Pradeep Sangwan was considered a prize catch during the inaugural season, was an U-19 World Cup winner not long before, and held the tag of the youngest debutant for nearly a decade. He went for 40 and took no wickets on his debut against CSK and had only one real season of meaningful cricket (13 games in 2009). He last played in IPL 2022 representing Gujarat Titans and has not played any cricket since the start of 2024.
6 Sarfaraz Khan – 17 years, 182 days (vs Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2015) The batter from Mumbai debuted for RCB in 2015 and seemed to be someone they were willing to invest in, long-term. He was, a few years later, one of their retentions, but was let go in 2018. Fast forward to 2025 at the peak of his red-ball form – and ten years since his IPL debut – he found no takers in the auction for a second season in a row.
Varun Shetty is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
