Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be the cynosure of all eyes during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, which begins on March 28. The southpaw is only 14 years old, but he has impressed one and all with his unbelievable batting ability. At such a tender age, Sooryavanshi smashes massive sixes for fun, making himself a rare commodity in T20 cricket. The player came into the spotlight after Rajasthan Royals (RR) 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 roped 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 became the youngest player to score an IPL century and the fastest Indian to reach the milestone. He smashed the record ton in just 35 balls.
While he fired on all cylinders in his first IPL season, Vaibhav continued his impressive performances in Under-19 cricket for India as well. He played an instrumental role in the country’s title-winning campaign in the U19 World Cup 2026. The southpaw smashed 175 runs off 80 balls in the final against England as India won the game by 100 runs.
As a lot of focus will be on the teenager during IPL 2026, RR captain Riyan Parag has intimated the rising star of the challenges ahead.
“There will be hype and pressure naturally this year. But as a captain, I’ll tell him to let Yashasvi Jaiswal take that pressure. He’s more than capable of handling it,” Parag said on Thursday.
“For him, the role is very simple, just go out there, hit, and don’t worry about anything else,” he added.
Parag wants to keep Vaibhav off the limelight and just let the young prodigy enjoy the game of cricket.
“As a captain, I’ll try to keep him away from too much media attention. I’ll tell him not to do many press conferences or interact too much, just enjoy the game and play naturally,” concluded the RR skipper.