New Delhi: Ever since it was launched in 2008, the Indian Premier League (IPL) has served as a launchpad for emerging talent, offering young cricketers the stage to showcase their skills against some of the best in the world.
Many names came up for their swashbuckling knocks over the years. The likes of Prithvi Shaw, Manish Pandey lit up stadiums only to slowly fade away. And then there are success stories like that of Rishabh Pant, who captains the Lucknow Super Giants.
With its high-pressure games and massive viewership, the tournament often throws up future stars. The 18th season of the IPL is no exception. It didn’t just spotlight one breakout performer, it also delivered prodigies—14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi and 17-year-old Ayush Mhatre.
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Vaibhav Suryavanshi
Fourteen-year-old Suryavanshi has been the ‘IT’ story of the IPL 2025. His rags-to-riches story got the internet talking.
The Rajasthan Royals batter smashed a 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans on 28 April at Jaipur’s Sawai Mansingh Stadium to become the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket history.
The young prodigy’s blistering knock of 101 off 38 balls featured 94 runs in boundaries, including 11 sixes—matching Murali Vijay’s record for the most by an Indian in an IPL innings.
His onslaught peaked with a 30-run over off Afghanistan’s Karim Janat (6, 4, 6, 4, 4, 6), sending fans into a frenzy and cricket legends like Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma and Virender Sehwag into praise mode.
Drafted into the XI following skipper Sanju Samson’s injury, Suryavanshi has tallied 155 runs in five appearances. Apart from the hundred, he has struggled to build innings. His other scores were: 34, 16, 4 and a duck.
The Bihar boy also made history at the IPL 2025 auction when, at 13 years old, he became the youngest to earn an IPL deal. Rajasthan Royals picked him for Rs 1.1 crore.
Priyansh Arya
Priyansh Arya lit up the Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh with a jaw-dropping 39-ball century against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on 8 April.
His blistering knock included seven fours and nine sixes that set social media abuzz. With that knock, he etched his name in the record books as the fastest uncapped player to score a century in IPL history.
Arya’s explosive batting turned him into an overnight sensation. His rise began in the Delhi Premier League, where he smashed six sixes in an over, mounting up 120 runs off 50 balls.
That performance triggered a bidding war at the IPL auction, where Punjab Kings secured him for Rs 3.8 crore, leaping from a base price of Rs 30 lakh.
In IPL 2025, Arya has so far played 11 matches for PBKS, amassing 347 runs, including a century and a half-century, proving that the hype around him is well deserved.
Ayush Mhatre
At just 17, Ayush Mhatre has emerged as one of the brightest sparks in what has been a challenging season for Chennai Super Kings (CSK).
Making his IPL and T20 debut against Mumbai Indians at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on 20 April, Mhatre was thrown into the deep end—and he didn’t just swim, he soared.
Replacing Rahul Tripathi in the XI, the young batter made an instant impact with a fiery 15-ball 32, featuring four boundaries and two towering sixes that drew praise from M.S. Dhoni and even opposition players.
He smashed 94 off 48 deliveries against Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) on 3 May while chasing. Even though CSK lost the match by two runs, Mhatre’s innings is etched in the hearts of all cricket fans.
The knock also made him the third-youngest player to hit a 50 in IPL history.
Notably, Mhatre was unsold at the IPL 2025 auction, but an injury to skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad handed him a late call-up mid-tournament and a debut soon after.
Last year, he earned a first-class debut for Mumbai and made his maiden first-class century in just his third game in the 2024/25 Ranji Trophy season.
The right-hand batsman also broke List-A records when he scored 181 off 117 balls in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2024, to become the youngest to hit 150 or more in an innings. The record, earlier, belonged to Yashasvi Jaiswal.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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