Vaibhav Suryavanshi becomes youngest cricketer to play in IPL
Jaipur, Apr 19 (PTI): Vaibhav Suryavanshi, a 14-year-old baby-faced cricketer with oodles of confidence and determination, on Saturday became the youngest player to feature in the Indian Premier League as he turned out for Rajasthan Royals against Lucknow Super Giants here.
At just 14 years and 23 days, Suryavanshi was the darling of the crowd the moment he walked alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal to open the Rajasthan Royals innings.
With determination writ large on his face, the left-handed batter sent the Sawai Mansingh Stadium crowd into a tizzy when he smacked the first ball he faced -- fourth delivery of the first over from LSG pacer Shardul Thakur -- for a huge six.
The ball simply flew over the extra-cover boundary, even as the camera zoomed towards the RR dugout, where injured skipper Sanju Samson had a cheeky smile on his face.
Suryavanshi, born on March 27, 2011 -- the year when India won the Cricket World Cup under MS Dhoni -- has played just five First-Class games for Bihar in the 2024-25 season.
He had made history in the IPL 2025 auction when, as a 13-year-old, became the youngest to get an IPL contract, being bought by the Royals for Rs 1.1 crore.
He has also represented India Under-19, scoring a 58-ball century in a four-day game against Australia Under-19.
Before Suryavanshi, Prayas Ray Barman was the youngest cricketer to play in the IPL at 16 years and 157days. Barman had played for RCB against SRH in 2019.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman played for Punjab Kings against Delhi Capitals in 2018 when he was 17 years and 11 days old.
Riyan Parag, who led RR on Saturday, is the fourth youngest on the list having donned the Royals' lersey against Chennai Super Kings in 2019 at the age of 17 years and 152 days.
By hitting a first-ball six, Suryavanshi joined an elite club that has the likes of Rob Quiney (RR), Kevon Cooper (RR), Andre Russell (KKR), Carlos Brathwaite (DD, now Delhi Capitals), Aniket Choudhary (RCB), Javon Searles (KKR), Siddesh Lad (MI), Mahesh Theekshana (CSK) and Sameer Rizvi (CSK).
Welcome to the IPL, Vaibhav💗6️⃣6⃣ pic.twitter.com/rG60DdoHJd
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 19, 2025
Halla Bol from Ball One! 🔥💗 pic.twitter.com/iH5r2yR1x9
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 19, 2025
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Delhi CM Rekha Gupta accuses Mamata Banerjee of stalling SIR; TMC hits back
Kolkata (PTI): Alleging that her West Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee had approached the Supreme Court to stall the SIR exercise to prevent the identification of infiltrators, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Sunday claimed that the people of the state have made up their minds to dislodge the Trinamool Congress from power.
The TMC countered strongly, urging Gupta to "look into her own backyard" and accused her of making absurd allegations against the TMC government without checking facts.
Addressing participants at the 'Nari Sankalp Yatra' organised by the BJP's women's wing at Science City auditorium here, Gupta alleged that the "hands-off" and appeasement policies of the TMC government had allowed thousands of infiltrators to enter the state in recent years.
She claimed that this had put a strain on basic rights such as access to water, electricity, ration, education, livelihood and the right to vote for genuine citizens.
"She wants to perpetuate this and hence is trying to stall the SIR exercise, which aims at identifying and deporting infiltrators. Imagine a chief minister going to the apex court to argue against an exercise meant to ensure free and fair polls," Gupta said.
The BJP leader alleged that appeasement politics had reached an "alarming level" under the TMC regime.
Raising concerns over women's safety, she claimed that women in the state were not secure despite having a woman chief minister.
Referring to the rape-murder of a woman doctor at RG Kar Hospital, Gupta alleged that the state government had failed to respond adequately to such crimes.
She also referred to the alleged rape of a woman medic in Durgapur and another law student on a Kolkata college campus, claiming that criminals had been emboldened to commit brutalities against women.
She alleged that in crimes against women, overall crime incidents and child marriages, West Bengal remained among the top -- "a slur on a state which once led intellectual and social movements and set examples for the rest of the country," she said.
Criticising the state government's welfare initiatives, she said schemes such as Kanyashree were built on "false claims" and asserted that women needed security rather than assurances.
Accusing the state government of blocking central schemes, Gupta alleged that funds worth "lakhs of crores of rupees" had not reached the poor due to non-implementation of programmes such as Ayushman Bharat, PM Awas Yojana and Jal Jeevan Mission by the state.
"You are only interested in renaming projects and taking credit," she said.
Gupta also alleged that the education sector in the state had been adversely affected, saying several state-run schools had closed due to a shortage of teachers and that the government was opposed to the National Education Policy.
Drawing a comparison with BJP-ruled Delhi, Gupta said, "People have already voted out 'Bhaia' (a reference to former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal). Now it is your turn to bid farewell to 'Didi'." Calling upon women to resist what she termed "strong-arm tactics", she urged them to assert their strength, invoking the imagery of Goddess Durga.
"Bengal has the right to live with dignity, and women have the right to live with dignity," she added.
Reacting to Gupta's allegations, West Bengal Women and Child Welfare minister Shashi Panja accused her of making "absurd allegations" against the Trinamool Congress government ahead of elections.
Panja alleged that during Gupta's tenure in Delhi, several incidents had raised serious concerns, including reports of missing young women and a blast near the Red Fort.
She also criticised the air pollution situation in the national capital, claiming that people were struggling to breathe.
The TMC leader said that despite being in power for a year, Gupta was making "tall claims" instead of addressing key issues in Delhi.
Panja further alleged that the Delhi CM visited West Bengal during elections to "peddle false allegations" against the state government.
Rebutting Gupta, the TMC said in a post on X said, "Madam why did you go off-script again? For your edification, here are the cold, hard facts: In total cases of crimes (IPC + SLL), Bengal ranks a respectable 15th, far safer than BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Gujarat, which languish near the bottom."
"In overall crime rate, Bengal sits comfortably at 28th. Who's second? Your own Delhi. Double Engine Gujarat and Haryana grab 4th and 5th as top-tier crime havens," the TMC said.
"In child marriage, Assam again takes the shameful pole position. And yet you dare lecture Bengal? Stop embarrassing yourself, stop the hypocrisy, and maybe fix the rotting mess in your own backyard before pointing fingers at a state that's outperforming your disasters on every key metric," the TMC countered.
