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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Rupee rises 28 paise to 92.86 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee jumped 28 paise to 92.86 against the US dollar in early trade on Friday amid hopes of easing geopolitical tensions and positive sentiment in domestic equity markets.
Buying of Indian equities by foreign investors also supported the local currency even though it stayed under pressure due to a firm dollar, forex traders said.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 92.93 and gained further to trade at 92.86 against the greenback in early deals, up 28 paise from the previous closing level.
On Thursday, the rupee strengthened 19 paise to settle at 93.14 against the US dollar.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, rose by 0.05 per cent at 98.07.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.16 per cent down at USD 98.24 per barrel in futures trade.
Analysts said that crude oil prices fell below USD 100/barrel amid expectations that the crisis in West Asia would soon come to an end.
In a latest development on the geopolitical front, China, a close ally of Iran and the largest importer of Iranian oil, has asked Tehran to ensure freedom and safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, a key international trade route.
Besides, Israel and Lebanon have agreed to a 10-day ceasefire, which could also boost the peace efforts towards ending the devastating war involving the US, Israel and Iran.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share Sensex gained 176.08 points or 0.23 per cent to 78,164.76 in early trade, while the Nifty rose 33.90 points or 0.14 per cent to 24,232.60.
Foreign Institutional Investors turned net buyers on Thursday, as they bought equities worth Rs 382.36 crore, according to exchange data.
