Ravichandran Ashwin has revealed that he was startled after bowling to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for the first time during the Indian Premier League 2025 season.

The 14-year-old Vaibhav top-scored with 57 off 33 when Rajasthan Royals faced Chennai Super Kings in their final match of the season, eventually falling to Ashwin himself.

Ashwin, India's second-highest wicket-taker in Test matches, was in awe of the youngster’s composure and talent.

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“I bowled one to him round the stumps and he smacked it through the covers. The next ball, I bowled a slower one…I pulled it a bit wide and he just waited and gave it a solid shot... I remember thinking, ‘What the hell, man… Where has this guy come from?" Ashwin recalled during the episode of his podcast, along with Sanju Samson.

Vaibhav’s knock set up a six-wicket win for the Royals and left Ashwin chuckling at the generational gap.

“He was 14 and I made my IPL debut 18 years ago. He was not even in the imagination of his parents… That was quite crazy. I saw Jos Buttler talking to Jofra Archer about it. About how it was to get smashed around by a 14-year-old in the nets," Ashwin quipped.

Vaibhav had already turned heads on debut, smashing a six off his very first ball in the league against Lucknow Super Giants at just 14 years and 23 days old. Samson admitted he initially thought it was luck, but the quality soon became clear.

“When he hit the first ball for a six, I was like, ‘That’s cool…he lucked out’. But then he just went on and on and on. Wow! The quality of the shots he was hitting shocked me," Samson told Ashwin.

The teenager’s dream run continued when he became the youngest centurion in IPL history, hammering a 35-ball hundred against Gujarat Titans. He finished the season with 252 runs in seven matches at a blistering strike rate of 206.56, earning the Super Striker of the Season award.

Following his IPL exploits, Vaibhav amassed 355 runs in five matches in the India U19 vs England U19 Youth ODI 2025 series. Vaibhav’s 143 off 78 balls in the fourth Youth ODI made him the youngest centurion in the format’s history.

He has also been selected in the India U19 squad for their upcoming tour of Australia, starting September 21. They will play three Youth ODIs and two multi-day matches.