File image of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.© BCCI
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be in focus during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, starting March 28. The 14-year-old has impressed one and all with his unbelievable batting ability in the tournament and at the Under-19 level for India. At such a tender age, Sooryavanshi smashes massive sixes for fun, making himself a rare commodity in T20 cricket. Playing his maiden IPL season in 2025, the Rajasthan Royals southpaw became the youngest IPL centurion and the fastest Indian to reach the milestone by achieving the feat in just 35 balls against the Gujarat Titans.
As Vaibhav gears up to play another IPL season, India and Royal Challengers Bengaluru wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma has made a big revelation regarding the teenager. He said that RR’s net bowlers are afraid of bowling to Vaibhav during practice.
“Very cute boy. He used to come to Talegaon for practice, where RR’s academy is. That’s where I got to know him, then we went to play in Qatar, where I was captain, so that’s where we made our bond,” Jitesh said on Ranveer Allahbadia‘s podcast on YouTube.
Talking about Vaibhav’s unbelievable power, Jitesh said, “It’s all natural, he’s very strong. His wrists are bigger than my wrists – I gave him my watch to wear and it was tight for him.
“Chhota Hulk hai woh (He’s baby Hulk). He swings his bat so hard that the bowler is afraid that if he hits it straight, he might die. RR’s nets bowlers, I know them, they say that they don’t pitch the ball up because he can hit it straight back. So they bowl short balls to have him hit it away from them.”
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi came into the spotlight after Rajasthan Royals splurged a huge sum of Rs 1.1 crore to buy him at the auction before the 2025 season. He repaid the faith with 252 runs in seven matches at an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 206.56.
Vaibhav was drafted into the RR playing XI as a replacement for injured Sanju Samson and never looked back. Batting against Gujarat Titans in just his second game, Sooryavanshi smashed a record-breaking century.