Rajasthan Royals’ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (ANI Photo)
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has continued to dominate IPL 2026 with his fearless batting at the top, producing explosive starts almost every time he walks out for Rajasthan Royals. The 15-year-old has not always converted those starts into big scores, but his impact in the Powerplay has consistently set the tone for RR’s innings. Sooryavanshi has now scored 486 runs in 12 matches this season, including one century and two half-centuries. His aggressive intent has regularly taken Rajasthan past 60 runs inside the first six overs, giving their middle order a strong platform to build on. He once again made a strong impact against Delhi Capitals, smashing 46 off just 21 balls as RR reached 75/1 at the end of the Powerplay in another high-tempo start. In the process, the 15-year-old opener went past Abhishek Sharma’s previous record of 42 sixes from IPL 2024 and now sits alone at the top with 43 maximums this season. The milestone further highlighted the fearless batting approach that has turned Sooryavanshi into one of the biggest stars of IPL 2026. Speaking during the broadcast, RR head coach Kumar Sangakkara praised the youngster’s intent and said the team is focused more on his impact than conversion rates. “Rather take 30 than not much on any day, especially the speed at which he gets them. Yes, he hasn’t continued as much as we would like or he would like. But I think the fact is that he’s hitting the ball well, he’s getting us those really quick-fire starts, and we have six to seven other batters who can then really continue the pressure and extend those partnerships,” Sangakkara said. He added that Sooryavanshi’s biggest strength is his natural approach to batting. “The most exciting thing is just how he looks at batting. He looks at it like all of us should as a 15-year-old, as a kid would. He loves it, he bats for long hours, and that’s the most exciting thing. He really reads the game as well, so it’s not just mindless hitting with him,” he said. Sangakkara also stressed that RR avoid overloading him with technical instruction. “He’s very curious, but I’m very careful not to have too long a chat with him. He just needs to relax and bat. If we do chat, it’s a lot about other things other than cricket. A few things here and there, but I just like to leave him alone to enjoy what he does,” he added. On preparation, Sangakkara revealed that conversations in the nets are more about reading situations than technical corrections. “In the nets, those are the things we really talk about. When he practices, we kind of have a chat with him about what the bowlers might do, and he has an idea of what they might do to him – the short ball, the swinging yorker. So we’ll practice those a little bit, but the more we tell him is just to commit. Whatever you do and you decide to do, you have to be 100% committed to that option,” he explained. When asked if he takes a mentoring or father-figure role, Sangakkara was clear that Sooryavanshi does not need that level of intervention. “No, no. He doesn’t need that at all. He’s a much better player than I would ever be, so he needs a little help but not too much,” he said.
