13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi signed to IPL team Rajasthan Royals

With the world still infatuated by 22-year-old Perth century-maker Yashasvi Jaiswal, he’s a day later made to look like a veritable grandfather compared to Vaibhav Suryavanshi who was snapped up in the IPL auction aged 13.

Handing a $200,000 contract to a kid who in some Australian states would be legally too young to work is absolute insanity – but welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Indian cricket.

Taking a punt on an 18-year-old usually turns heads, but picking someone who is barely out of primary school is almost impossible to fathom.

Respected News Corp journalist and SEN commentator Bharat Sundaresan said he fully expects the boy to face up to 150km/h thunderbolts from Mitchell Starc and Mark Wood when the IPL rolls around in March – as crazy as that is.

“It’s India in a nutshell, isn’t it? These crazy things happen in Indian cricket and this was just a matter of time,” Sundaresan said.

“These franchises are looking at long-term investment and there can’t be a longer-term investment than getting a 13-year-old in. You could potentially have him for another 25 years if he’s that good.

“Should a 13-year-old be going under the hammer in an IPL auction? I don’t know.

“I think he will play for sure.

“It is insane that a 13-year-old will potentially be up against Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc when the Rajasthan Royals play.”

Born in 2011, Suryavanshi has already played five first-class games and a domestic T20 for his state Bihar — and is India’s youngest player at the level since 1986 and is clearly, the youngest player ever signed in the IPL.

A left-hander top-order batter, the prodigy is surprisingly already well-known in some Australian cricket circles; having made an eye-watering 58-ball hundred against Australia’s U19s earlier this year.

Suryavanshi’s whirlwind knock at just 13 years and 187 days old made him the youngest player ever to score a century in youth cricket, smashing the previous record held by Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto by over a year.

His innings just fell short of the record for the fastest century in an U19 red-ball match, with Moeen Ali’s 56-ball ton against Sri Lanka in 2005 narrowly holding its title.

Subsequently, it’s not a total surprise that franchises were interested in investing long-term with Suryavanshi, as a mini bidding war ensued for the youngster.

Delhi Capitals and his eventual team the Royals bid upwards from his base price of 30 lakhs, with the latter eventually coming up trumps with a final bid of 1.1 crore (currently equating to $200,727 AUD).

Sundaresan said Royals coach and Indian cricket legend Rahul Dravid would be the perfect mentor for the kid.

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“One thing I know about Rahul Dravid is he’ll be good for him. When he was under 19 coach of India he took a personal interest in their family life and he made sure (he is making smart financial decisions),” he said.

“When you start making money, the whole family becomes dependent on him. Rahul managed that really well, the whole money management stuff.

“It’s a positive that the kid will have Rahul at the helm.”

Originally published as 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi signed to IPL team Rajasthan Royals