Rajasthan Royals acquired the batter for his base price in the mini auction.
Hyderabad opener Aman Rao has hit the second double-hundred of the Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, following Odisha’s Swastik Samal’s 212 in the tournament opener. Rajasthan Royals (RR) had acquired the right-hander for his base price of 30 lakh in the IPL 2026 mini auction.
The 21-year-old’s brisk double ton came off just 154 balls, guiding Hyderabad to a mammoth 352/5 in 50 overs. Rao’s stellar show included 12 fours and a jaw-dropping 13 over-boundaries on his way to scoring the maiden List A double century.
The innings also noted another opener, Rahul Singh Gahlaut’s 65 off 54 balls, before a composed 34 from captain Tilak Varma. At the time of writing, Bengal are 101/4 in the chase after 19 overs. However, the RR player has maintained decent domestic stats in the white-ball formats in his limited appearances so far.
The batter has scored 301 runs in 11 T20 matches, striking at a blistering rate of 162.70. Moreover, after an average start in the initial two fixtures since his debut in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025-26, Rao bolstered his one-day format stats with a sublime 200*-run knock.
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Alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal, the franchise has already unearthed a swashbuckling opener in the form of Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The 14-year-old prodigy had replaced RR’s former skipper, Sanju Samson, for a few matches due to his unavailability for injuries and stole the spotlight in the IPL 2025.
Though the Royals are expected to continue with the fierce opening pair of Jaiswal and Suryavanshi, Rao would be another strong backup choice for the position in the IPL 2026. Earlier, he also enjoyed a brilliant run in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT) 2025.
The opener became Hyderabad’s fourth-highest run-scorer in the league, accumulating 234 runs in 10 fixtures, at a strike rate of 163.63. His heroics in India’s domestic T20 tournament also included a match-winning 52 not out against the defending champions, Mumbai.
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