The final shortlist of players for the IPL 2025 auction was released on Friday (November 15). Here are the five youngest players on the list.
A total of 574 players are on the shortlist, cut down from the long list of 1,574 names. England pacer Jofra Archer is one of the most prominent names to miss out on the shortlist, which contains 208 overseas players.
Twelve uncapped overseas players are on the shortlist, as well as 318 uncapped Indians. Many of the latter are players who are early on in their career, who have done well in domestic cricket and are hoping to secure a first IPL contract.
These are the five youngest players on the list.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Age: 13 years 234 days)
Listed as born on March 27, 2011, batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi from Bihar is the youngest player on the IPL 2025 auction list. There is confusion over his age though, with an interview suggesting he may be around 18 months older than he is on paper. But that would still make him the youngest on the list.
Suryavanshi made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024, at a listed age of 12 years and 384 days. Last month, he starred for India U19 against Australia with a 58-ball century in the first Youth Test.
Ayush Mhatre (Age: 17 years 123 days)
Opening batter Ayush Mhatre was a surprise call-up to Mumbai's squad for the Irani Trophy last month, but failed to make an impact against Rest of India on first-class debut, with scores of 19 & 14.
But Mhatre has been in excellent form since the start of the Ranji Trophy. He scored 52 in his first innings, before slamming 176 against Mahrashtra in his second match. In the ongoing match against Services, Mhatre has notched up another ton with a knock of 116 in Mumbai's first innings.
Hardik Raj (Age: 18 years 44 days)
Hardik Raj had a breakout season in 2023, playing in Karnataka's Maharaja T20 Trophy at the age of 16 for Gulbarga Mystics. Like his namesake Hardik Pandya, he is an all-rounder, but bowls left-arm spin rather than seam-up.
Hardik played three ODIs for India U19 during the home series against Australia last month, and has appeared thrice for Karnataka in the Ranji Trophy so far.
C Andre Siddarth (Age: 18 years 80 days)
Middle-order batter C Andre Siddarth is the nephew of former Tamil Nadu batter and current national selector S Sharath. He played in the Tamil Nadu Premier League for Chepauk Super Gillies, as well as the Buchi Babu invitational tournament earlier this year.
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The 18-year-old was then called up to Tamil Nadu's Ranji Trophy squad, and has made a stellar start to his first-class career with scores of 38, 66*, 55*, 41, 94 and 78. He received his first call-up to the India U19 side earlier this week, for the upcoming U19 Asia Cup which begins on November 30.
Kwena Maphaka (Age: 18 years 104 days)
The youngest overseas player on the auction list is South African left-arm seamer Kwena Maphaka. Maphaka starred at the U19 World Cup earlier this year, picking up 21 wickets.
Maphaka secured an IPL contract last season with Mumbai Indians, and played twice for the five-time champions. It was a tough initiation for the youngster, who conceded 89 runs in the six overs he bowled. Since then, he has made his senior international debut, playing three T20Is for South Africa against West Indies.
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