When a 14-year-old entered the IPL 2025 auction, there was doubt whether any team would bid for him. But to everyone’s surprise, Rajasthan Royals — who prides itself on backing youngsters, the likes of Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal et al — shelled INR 1.1 crores (approx. USD 128,911) for Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a name even core cricket followers had to Google at least once.
Suryavanshi announced himself in the mega, cash-rich T20 league in style, tonking the first ball he ever faced in IPL for a huge six. He then went on to hit more sixes before falling in the 30s against Lucknow Super Giants. That was just 10 days ago. However, on Monday, April 28, he showed the entire catalogue — range, power and finesse — to score a 35-ball hundred and help his team chase down 210 runs inside 16 overs. While praises for the boy wonder followed, and rightly so (with some going into an overdrive), one man wasn’t too happy: Shubman Gill.
The prince, slated to take over the reins from King Kohli, and often regarded in the cricketing world as the most complete young batter, is also the skipper of the Gujarat Titans, who were at the receiving end of the southpaw’s carnage. The GT bowlers have so far demonstrated exceptional skills, working in tandem to become a well-oiled unit.
But on Monday, Suryavanshi posed as a riddle they had no answer to. Even the wily Rashid Khan, who stood in as the stand-in skipper for the injury-riddled Gill, was made to look ordinary! But Gill took questions at the post-match interview. And when he was asked about the latest IPL centurion, Gill’s answer left a former cricketer unimpressed.
“It was his (lucky) day. His hitting was just tremendous, and he made full use of his day,” Gill said while speaking to the broadcaster after the game.
The GT skipper’s response irked Ajay Jadeja, who didn’t mince his words either.
“But a 14-year-old to believe in himself, the amount that he believes in himself, and to take it that far, even if it’s, you know, one day like some player on television just said, oh, it was just his lucky day,” Jadeja said before his conversation had to be cut due to the presentation ceremony.
Jadeja, who played 196 ODIs and 15 Test matches for India, later went on to heap praise of the 14-year-old.
“All of us who played cricket, dreamt of cricket in a certain way, either in our drawing rooms or when we were playing with our friends. This is what you dream of. At 14 and 15, all of us must have dreamt different things. But this is what you actually dream about. This man has gone out there and lived that dream there. There’s power. He’ll be analysed a hundred times,” he said.
“There are moments after seven overs that you have a strategic timeout. Great credit to Rahul Dravid and Vikram Rathour and the team, who have allowed him to just keep flowing and keep blossoming. And I think it’s the mindset that blows me away more than anything,” he added.
