Former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin humorously remarked that when he made his IPL debut 18 years ago, teenage sensation Vaibhav Suryavanshi wasn’t even a thought in his parents’ minds. Speaking to Sanju Samson, Ashwin praised the 14-year-old’s shot-making abilities.
Vaibhav, who was bought by Rajasthan Royals for ₹1.1 crore at the IPL 2025 mega auction, became the youngest player to secure an IPL contract. On debut, he smashed his very first ball for six and went on to score an impressive 34 off just 20 deliveries.
“When he hit the first ball for a six, I was like, ‘That’s cool…he lucked out’. But then he just went on and on and on. Wow! The quality of the shots he was hitting shocked me,” Vaibhav’s IPL captain, Sanju Samson, said while speaking on Ashwin’s YouTube channel.
“Let me tell you a small story, after the Rajasthan vs Chennai match in Delhi, I was talking to Panish (Shetty, RR lead analyst). You also joined us and left. It isn’t just about his (Vaibhav’s) hitting,” Ashwin replied.
“I bowled one to him round the stumps and he smacked it through the covers. The next ball, I bowled a slower one. You (Samson) have kept wickets for me for a long time and you know I do that to see if he would go for the big one,” Ashwin said.
“I pulled it a bit wide and he (Vaibhav) just waited and gave it a solid shot and the ball went through mid-on for a single. I remember thinking, ‘What the hell, man… Where has this guy come from?” Ashwin added.
“He Wasn’t Even in His Parents Imagination When I Debuted”- R Ashwin
Ravichandran Ashwin joked about the huge age gap with 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, recalling how the youngster impressed against top players in the nets.
“He (Vaibhav) was 14 and I made my IPL debut 18 years ago. He was not even in the imagination of his parents… That was quite crazy. I saw Jos Buttler talking to Jofra Archer about it. About how it was to get smashed around by a 14-year-old in the nets,” Ashwin said.
On April 28, 2025, Vaibhav smashed a century in just 35 balls, becoming the youngest player to score an IPL hundred and breaking the record for the fastest century by an Indian in the league’s history.
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