Indian batter Vaibhav Suryavanshi on Saturday made history as the youngest ever IPL player at 14 years old after Rajasthan Royals brought him in as their impact substitute against Lucknow Super Giants.

Suryavanshi, a left-hand batsman, earned a deal in the lucrative T20 tournament after Rajasthan bought him for $130,500 in the November auction when he was still aged just 13.

At 14 years and 23 days, Suryavanshi easily beat the previous record for the IPL’s youngest debutant held by Prayas Ray Barman, who was 16 years and 157 days old when he played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2019, AFP reported.

Suryavanshi was added as an impact player for the match at Rajasthan’s home in Jaipur after skipper Sanju Samson was ruled out due to injury.

The teenager then came out to open the innings alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal as Rajasthan sought to chase down 181, replacing medium-pace bowler Sandeep Sharma.

Suryavanshi made an instant impact when he smacked his first ball for a six — a flat-batted hit over the extra-cover boundary — off pace bowler Shardul Thakur.

The baby-faced Suryavanshi, called “Boss Baby” — a popular animated film — by the TV commentators, smashed 34 before being stumped off South African spinner Aiden Markram.

The youngster hit two fours and three sixes in his 20-ball knock and put on 85 runs for the first wicket with fellow left-hander Jaiswal, who has played 19 Tests for India.

Suryavanshi comes from India’s poorest state, Bihar, and his father is a farmer and part-time journalist, according to Indian media.

He is an explosive batter and rose to prominence with a 58-ball century in an Under-19 Test against Australia — the second fastest ton in youth Tests after England’s Moeen Ali, who hit 100 in 56 balls in 2005.

Suryavanshi made his domestic Ranji debut aged 12 in January last year.

Rajasthan coach Rahul Dravid was impressed by his trial in the net session prior to the auction and later said Suryavanshi has got “some really good skills”.

Sunday’s lineup

Sunday, April 20, once again delivers a thrilling double-header, which Ariana Television will broadcast live and exclusively in Afghanistan. 

First up will be Punjab Kings vs Royal Challengers Bangalore. This match starts at 2pm.

The second match of the day will see Mumbai Indians take on Chennai Super Kings at 5pm.

Polio-Free Afghanistan has announced the launch of a new polio vaccination campaign aimed at protecting children across the country. 

The campaign will start on Monday, according to an announcement shared by the organization on X on Sunday.

Families are being urged to ensure that all children under the age of five receive the polio vaccine, as part of ongoing efforts to eliminate the virus. 

Earlier this year, the first positive case of polio in 2025 was reported in Badghis province.

Afghanistan, along with neighboring Pakistan, remains one of the last two countries in the world where polio has yet to be eradicated.

Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in a meeting with his Pakistani counterpart in Kabul on Saturday called on the neighboring country to prevent the violation of the rights of Afghan refugees.

During the meeting, the two sides discussed various issues including refugees, politics, economy, trade, transit and major joint projects, the Afghan Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Amir Khan Muttaqi stressed the need to maintain positive relations based on mutual respect between Afghanistan and the countries of the world, especially Pakistan, and announced that the Islamic Emirate has adopted a balanced policy that will help develop cooperation with neighboring countries, including Pakistan.

Muttaqi also spoke about recent developments in Afghanistan and opportunities for development in various sectors, adding that Afghanistan is interested in expanding trade, transit and carrying out joint projects with Pakistan.

He further called on the Pakistani authorities to take effective measures to resolve the existing problems in these areas and provide necessary facilities for further cooperation. The acting foreign minister also expressed deep concern over the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and called on Pakistani authorities to prevent violations of the rights of Afghan refugees.

Meanwhile, Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar expressed his satisfaction with the visit to Afghanistan, adding that the visit could help improve relations and expand bilateral cooperation. He also invited Muttaqi to visit Pakistan.

Dar also announced that to facilitate bilateral trade, tariffs on many commercial items will be reduced and effective steps will be taken in the field of transportation of commercial goods. He also stressed that the Pakistani government is committed to expanding trade and transit with Afghanistan and will provide necessary facilities for this purpose.

During the meeting, the two sides also discussed the importance of strengthening diplomatic relations, joint cooperation, increasing visa issuance, fast transportation of agricultural products, trade growth and projects such as the Trans-Afghan railway, CASA 1000 electricity, TAPI gas and TAP electricity.

The meeting decided to form joint committees to follow up on issues raised and resolve existing problems.