Vaibhav Sooryavanshi impressed Rajasthan Royals management at trials.
Rajasthan Royals (RR) struck gold when they bought Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for INR 1.10 crore at the IPL 2025 auction, as they included a generational talent whose ceiling remains higher than any other young batter, at just 14 years of age. A story by The Cricket Monthly revealed how Zubin Bharucha, Director of High Performance at RR, was instantly impressed by Vaibhav’s superior talent and convinced management to keep ‘10 crore aside’ for him before the mega auction.
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In one of the RR trials in Talegaon, Maharashtra, he came to bat against a left-arm pacer, and Zubin thought the batter would miss the ball since it would angle away. Instead, Vaibhav hit it over extra cover for a maximum, which left the RR director stunned.
“I was like, ‘What am I seeing?’ I couldn’t even process it. It reminded me of the first ball I saw Jaiswal face at a trial at DY Patil Stadium – he walked across and flicked it over short fine leg for four. Sanju Samson, the same thing – first ball in Jaipur at the practice ground. Amit Singh banged in a bouncer, and he hit it onto the roof of the indoor stadium. First ball, kuch alag hi kiya.” [did something different].”
Coincidentally, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s first IPL shot was also a six over extra cover, albeit against a right-arm pacer, Shardul Thakur, in 2025. It was a length ball, to which he stayed on the leg side and whacked ferociously for a flat-bat maximum to announce his arrival in the best possible manner.
As if this were not enough, Zubin later called Vaibhav Sooryavanshi alone to face the sidearm throwers who could bowl at around 157-158kph, and one of them was 6’4’’ with high release points. He asked the bowlers to attack and warned the batter about the speeds, to which Vaibhav casually replied, ‘Haan sir, no problem.’
“The first few balls, he left. But even that stood out. The way he was leaving, it felt like there was no pace on the ball. The keeper was standing 30 yards back, and he’s just… so comfortably leaving them.”
A few shoulder arms were followed by something that sealed Bharucha’s faith. One of the bowlers hit the deck hard, to which Vaibhav hit straight over the sightscreen for a maximum off a 157kph delivery.
Eventually, Zubin convinced the Rajasthan Royals management by narrating the story, and they picked him at the auction after a bidding war with Delhi Capitals. Vaibhav proved the backing correct in his maiden season, scoring 252 runs at a strike rate of 206.55 in seven innings, including the second-fastest IPL century in just 35 balls against Gujarat Titans (GT).
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