Vaibhav Suryavanshi: The 13-year-old Indian cricketer who won a $130,500 IPL deal
Though Indian laws ban child labour below 14, experts say no such guidelines exist for sports, where players below 14 regularly compete in national and international events.
But to play an international match organised by International Cricket Council (ICC), Suryavanshi may have to wait until he is 15 since that’s the minimum age limit set by cricket’s governing body.
The news of Suryavanshi’s auction and the size of his contract has brought a lot of joy to his family who had to sell their land to finance his cricketing dreams.
His father Sanjiv Suryavanshi told PTI news agency that “he is not just my son now but is Bihar’s son”.
Mr Suryavanshi, a farmer from Bihar who had migrated to Mumbai for employment, worked as a bouncer in a nightclub and at a public toilet, he told, external Indian Express newspaper.
His biggest concern now is to ensure that his son remains grounded. “I will talk to him and make sure that this IPL auction doesn’t go to his head. He still has a long way to go,” he said.
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