Thirteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi from Bihar has become the youngest player shortlisted for the upcoming IPL auction, scheduled to take place in Jeddah on November 24 and 25. With a base price of Rs 30 lakh, the India U19 cricketer has already captured the imagination of cricket enthusiasts, showcasing extraordinary talent at an age when most are still dreaming of breaking into the sport.

The auction, featuring 574 players, includes 366 Indians and 208 overseas players, with 81 players in the top bracket of Rs 2 crore.

A Rising Star with Record-Breaking Feats

Vaibhav Suryavanshi's selection is no fluke, as he has consistently impressed in domestic and youth international cricket. Earlier this year, he made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar at just 12 years and 284 days, becoming the eighth youngest first-class cricketer globally. His historic youth Test fifty against Australia U19 in August further solidified his reputation as a prodigy.

Suryavanshi hails from the village of Tajpur in Bihar, located around 17 kilometers from Samastipur. His cricket journey began at the age of nine when his father, his first coach, introduced him to the game. He also played for Bihar U19 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy as a 12-year-old before his Ranji debut.

In 2023, he represented the India B U19 side in a Quadrangular Under-19 series, scoring 177 runs in six innings, including two half-centuries. His international breakthrough came in September 2024 when he made his debut for India U19 in a youth test match against Australia U19, where he struck a remarkable 58-ball century, the fastest by an India U19 player, and followed it with a run out for 104.

Veteran Stars and Big Names in the Auction

Rishabh Pant, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul and Arshdeep Singh will headline a 574-strong list of players with top base price of Rs 2 crore at the upcoming Indian Premier League auction scheduled in Saudi Arabia's Jeddah on November 24 and 25.

The BCCI on Friday pruned the initial list of 1574 players down to 574 out of which 366 are Indians and 208 from overseas. All the current India players are in top base price bracket.

Apart from Pant, set to be the costliest buy at the auction with a team like Punjab Kings aiming to go the distance with Rs 110.50 crore in its kitty, the other big names include IPL winning captain Shreyas Iyer, India's most prolific T20I bowler Arshdeep Singh, KL Rahul, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal and Avesh Khan.

There are 81 players in the top bracket while 27 are in Rs 1.5 crore category. There are 18 in the Rs 1.25 crore category while 23 have priced themselves at Rs 1 crore.

Jos Buttler of England also enjoys the top base price bracket of Rs 2 crore along with countrymen Harry Brook and Jonny Bairstow while the retired James Anderson, at Rs 1.25 crore base price, has made it to the curtailed list despite T20 not being his strongest format.

The biggest names in the top bracket from overseas are Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje from South Africa, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Starc from Australia. Marco Jansen and Rachin Ravindra are priced at Rs 1.25 crore.

There are 48 capped Indians while 193 are capped overseas players.

Former India U-19 World Cup winning skipper Unmukt Chand, who has migrated to the United States, has made the cut as Associate member nation player while seamer Saurabh Nethravalkar, who was a revelation during T20 World Cup, wasn't shortlisted.

Italy's Thomas Draca, who plays for MI Emirates, also didn't make the cut.