Yashasvi Jaiswal is beginning to feel the pressure of sky-high expectations during IPL 2026, with his early-season form proving tougher to sustain than the electric run of his opening partner, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. For Rajasthan Royals, the contrast at the top has become impossible to ignore: while Sooryavanshi has seized the spotlight week after week, Jaiswal—despite still posting a solid aggregate of 426 runs—has not been able to reproduce the kind of consistent, match-shaping starts that once made him a reliable barometer for the team.
Jaiswal’s tournament numbers underline that drop in rhythm. His batting average of 32.77 and strike rate of 153.23 are respectable, but they fall noticeably short of the level he has typically delivered within the Royals’ setup. It’s a different story with Sooryavanshi, who has surged to the forefront of the Orange Cap standings. The younger opener has amassed 680 runs at a strike rate of more than 240, turning the opening overs into a launchpad almost every time he walks out.
That widening gap in output between the two Royals openers has quickly become a defining talking point of their campaign. Jaiswal, once viewed as one of the faces of Rajasthan’s next generation, now finds himself sharing the spotlight with a 15-year-old who has not merely met expectations but blown past them. As the season moves forward, the pressure only seems to grow with each subdued innings, because every quiet return sharpens the difference between what Jaiswal could be doing and what he is currently managing inside the same dressing room.
With Sooryavanshi relentlessly accelerating the tempo at the top, Jaiswal’s quieter contributions have started drawing more scrutiny in Rajasthan’s internal conversations. The team’s rhythm has been shaped around the younger opener’s attacking mindset, leaving Jaiswal to work harder to find the same kind of regular impact he showed in earlier seasons. It is in this context that former India batter Mohammad Kaif offered his perspective on Jaiswal’s current phase, acknowledging the dip while insisting the right batter is capable of bouncing back.
“Jaiswal was one such player who used to dominate. What Vaibhav is doing, Jaiswal used to do. Yes, he didn’t use to hit so many sixes but had a higher striker rate and used to hit boundaries. He has gotten behind that phase. He’s a strong player and would make a comeback,” Kaif said on his YouTube channel.
Kaif then sharpened the discussion by pointing to the imbalance that has emerged between the Royals’ two openers this season. In his view, one batter has been executing his role at an extraordinary level, while the other is still searching for the right way to slot in and deliver similar influence. “Someone is doing his work, and that too 50 times better, so that’s the difference. He’s figuring out how to go ahead with him. He’s playing a second fiddle. I think he’s an excellent player,” Kaif added.
