It’s been a week packed with the weird and the wonderful in the IPL.
Let’s start with one of the most extraordinary things you will ever see on a cricket field – a 14-year old-making his debut in the biggest cricket tournament in the world and hitting his first ball for six!
When Vaibhav Suryavanshi was signed by Rajasthan Royals at the auction while still 13, not many people expected him to make the starting XI – it seemed more likely he would use the year getting acclimatised to the intensity of the IPL.
But with Sanju Samson out injured Rahul Dravid threw him in at the deep end and he didn’t just swim, he took to the water like Michael Phelps!
Highlights of Rajasthan Royals’ game versus Lucknow Super Giants as Suryavanshi hit 34 from 20 balls on debut
It wasn’t just that he hit an international bowler (Shardul Thakur) for six first ball, it was the way he did it. This wasn’t a top edge that flew over the wicketkeeper’s head, he made room and smashed Thakur over extra-cover with complete disdain.
If ever there was a moment that shone a spotlight on the IPL’s influence on Indian cricket, this was it.
Young Indian players are now bred to be on the grandest stage and when they get there they are primed and ready, even if at an age where they don’t even need to shave yet.
All they know is the IPL – the competition had already been going for three seasons when Suryavanshi was born.
Suryavanshi is younger than the IPL, with three editions played before he was even born
It makes you wonder also whether we in UK sport should start looking at age slightly differently. In India (and Pakistan for that matter) the attitude has always been ‘if you are good enough, you are old enough’.
Are we sometimes guilty of assuming players are not up to the mark based solely on their young age? Suryavanshi is admittedly an incredibly talented freak of nature, but it is food for thought.
Classy Nair back with a bang
As ever in the IPL there are great stories involving both young and old.
At 33, Karun Nair is hardly ‘old’, but he did come very close to being forgotten. Eight and half years ago he scored a stunning Test triple century against England in Chennai. Three Test matches later, he was dropped and never seen again in that arena.
Delhi Capitals’ Karun Nair has relaunched his career in the IPL
A chronic loss of form and confidence followed, culminating in him being dropped by his state team (Karnataka) and a famous tweet in 2022 which read ‘Dear cricket, give me one more chance’.
After a resurgence in form when he switched states to Vidarbha, that chance duly came this season for Delhi Capitals. Having not been picked up at the IPL auction for the previous three years, he hit a sparkling 89 in his first innings back and has looked like the Nair of old – a fantastic timer of the ball with a simple, punchy technique.
The IPL, it seems, is a great place to launch your career but it’s also the perfect platform to relaunch it.
Why on earth did Kishan walk?
That was the wonderful, the weird was Ishan Kishan deciding to walk off the field thinking he’d edged the ball behind to the wicketkeeper, when replays showed he hadn’t.
Playing against his old side Mumbai for Sunrisers, Deepak Chahar bowled him an innocuous-looking delivery swinging down the leg-side which Ryan Rickelton took nonchalantly.
No one appealed or even batted an eyelid. Except Kishan, who duly turned around and headed off back to the pavilion.
The umpire was left flummoxed after Sunrisers Hyderabad bater Ishan Kishan waled off despite not hitting the ball!
The look on the umpire’s face was priceless – he was about to signal wide but when he saw Kishan walking off, a sudden look of panic washed over him and he ended up making a signal that I can only describe as 50 per cent wide, 50 per cent out!
It was an utterly bizarre moment and I can’t imagine Kishan will make the same mistake again in a hurry. In fact, I expect him to go full Stuart Broad in his next innings and refuse to walk even if he edges the ball straight to first slip!
Mumbai on the charge
Mumbai ended up winning the game comfortably and are now officially on a charge having won four on the bounce.
Suryakumar Yadav has helped turn around Mumbai Indians’ form
The return of Jasprit Bumrah has given the bowling attack cutting edge, Trent Boult is finding his form and Suryakumar Yadav looks a world beater again with the bat.
Less than two weeks ago the Indians looked off the pace and you wondered where their next win was coming from – that is how quickly things can change in a T20 tournament.
With just two points currently separating top from sixth in the table, we could be in for a very tense and thrilling end to the group stage.
Watch every match from the 2025 IPL live on Sky Sports Cricket, up to and including the final on Sunday May 25.
