Suryavanshi, 13, has been in the news recently for his performances with the India U19 team: in October, he smashed a 58-ball century in the U19 Tests against Australia. It was the second-quickest hundred in U19 Tests, behind Moeen Ali's 56-ball century back in 2005.

Born in March 2011, days before India won the ODI World Cup, Suryavanshi bats left-handed and bowls left-arm spin. Despite his tender age, he has already played five first-class matches for Bihar, debuting in the 2023/24 Ranji Trophy aged 12. He's opened the batting for the state team.

He was bought by Rajasthan Royals, a team known to nurture young talent. But it wasn't just them: Delhi Capitals were in pursuit too, pushing his price to INR 1.1 Crore (just over £100,000).

Before the U19 series against Australia, he had also played in the 2023 Challenger Trophy that featured more India U19 teams.

"I am struggling to comprehend what I am seeing," said Eoin Morgan, speaking to JioCinema. "He is a phenom, to be very honest", said Abhinav Mukund. "He's got a similar dip of the bat like AB de Villiers, but left-handed," noted Robin Uthappa, saying that the pick adheres to RR's philosophy of picking players early and handholding them.

There's been some discussion over Suryavanshi's actual age: as per official records, he was born on March 27, 2011, becoming the seventh-youngest first-class cricketer ever. However, in an interview on 2023, he had said he would turn 14 on September 27 that year. Either way, a player that young earning an IPL contract remains a brilliant achievement.

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