Rahul Dravid, RR coach, explains decision to sign 13-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi for ₹1.1 crore

Rajasthan Royals head coach Rahul Dravid has shed light on the team's decision to acquire 13-year-old prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi for a whopping INR 1.10 crore during the IPL 2025 mega auction. This move is in line with the Royals' longstanding strategy of nurturing young talent, as evidenced by their support of players like Sanju Samson, Riyan Parag, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Dhruv Jurel from their formative years. Under the mentorship of Dravid and the coaching staff, these budding cricketers have flourished and made significant contributions to the team's success.

Dravid said that the eighth-standard student from Bihar's Samastipur came to the Royals' trials, where the franchise decided to go after him in the auction. The former India head coach also feels that RR would provide Suryavanshi with "a good environment".

"I think he's (Suryavanshi) got some really good skills, so we thought it might be a good environment for him to grow in. Vaibhav just came to our trials and we were really happy with what he saw," said Dravid in an IPL video.

The 13-year-old grabbed the attention with a century in a Youth Test for India Under-19 versus Australia U-19 in Chennai, making 104 in just 62 deliveries.

He also made his T20 debut for Bihar in the ongoing Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy versus Rajasthan on Saturday, managing a 6-ball 13.

Hailing from Samastipur, Raghuvanshi debuted at the age of 12 years and 284 days versus Mumbai in the Ranji Trophy last season.

Dravid, who returned as RR head coach after finishing his successful stint with the Indian team this year, talked about other signings in the auction where they primarily targeted bowlers.

Among the latest additions to their pace department are Akash Madhwal, Jofra Archer, Tushar Deshpande, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Ashok Sharma and Kwena Maphaka.

In the spin department, they have picked up Kumar Kartikeya Singh and Maheesh Theekshana, while Wanindu Hasaranga and Yudhvir Charak have come in as all-rounders.

"We came into this auction having retained a lot of our core Indian batsmen. A big target for us in this auction really was bowlers, showing that we did a really strong bowling attack. I think we achieved that," Dravid explained.

He further dissected the credentials of the players who Rajasthan signed for next season.

"We got some really good bowlers, a couple of really good spinners, backed it up with a really good Indian spinner in Karthikeya. So, having someone like Jofra and his skills and unique skills, backed that up with a couple of left-handers.

“We like the change in angle, like the swing that both Faruqui and Mafaka bring for us. We really enjoyed the whole process, not only just the pure auction,” he added.