Rajasthan Royals youngster Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has already made a striking impression in IPL 2026 by starting his campaign with big-hitting cameos against high-calibre bowling. The teenager’s standout moment came when he sent Jasprit Bumrah into the stands with a six on the very first ball he faced. Yet, despite that early statement, former West Indies fast bowler Ian Bishop believes the challenge awaiting Sooryavanshi against another pace heavyweight—Mitchell Starc—will be of a different order when Rajasthan take on the Delhi Capitals on Friday.
What Ian Bishop expects from Mitchell Starc
Bishop’s view was straightforward: Starc, as a strike bowler of the highest level, will be ready for what Sooryavanshi brings to the crease. He argued that it would be a mistake to treat the Australian as a like-for-like comparison with Bumrah, pointing to Starc’s preparation and execution rather than simply the reputation of the opponent.
“You’ve got to give Mitchell Starc credit. He’ll arrive with a better plan and be more prepared; he won’t be Jasprit Bumrah,” Bishop said in his comments.
While Bishop’s assessment could be seen as a warning, Sooryavanshi is expected to take it as fuel rather than a verdict—using the matchup as motivation to test himself against one of the tournament’s most dangerous fast bowlers.
Sooryavanshi’s start: big hits against top names
In the ongoing IPL season, Sooryavanshi has already gone after several of the leading bowlers in the competition, including Bumrah, Trent Boult and Josh Hazlewood. The teenager’s aggression has brought him attention quickly, but Bishop’s argument is that it is not merely luck or timing—there is a deliberate, repeatable approach behind his striking.
Bishop highlighted the youngster’s mindset and technical individuality, suggesting his mental approach allows him to confront established international pace attacks. He also described Sooryavanshi’s batting swing as unusual, comparing it to the mechanics often associated with baseball-style hitting rather than a conventional cricket swing.
“I feel his mental make-up is good enough to take on the best bowlers in the world. He faced Jasprit Bumrah. Technically, he’s quite different with how he swings his bat—almost like a baseball-type swing,” Bishop said.
Why Bishop sees no clear weakness
Another key point Bishop raised was that there does not appear to be a single, obvious vulnerability in Sooryavanshi’s batting that opponents can reliably exploit. He noted that deliveries pitched around the back-of-a-length region have troubled others, yet those same balls have also worked against him in the past—meaning bowlers are left scrambling to find a consistent angle or variation that truly disrupts him.
Bishop explained that the “back of a length” ball has been effective against Sooryavanshi in different contexts, including situations such as the Under-19 World Cup and in matches against Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, he added that when bowlers miss that specific length and the ball is pulled or sliced early, the scoring opportunities tend to open up, sometimes turning into big hits.
“It’s difficult to identify exactly where his weakness is because the back-of-a-length delivery has been effective against him—say, in the Under-19 World Cup and versus Sunrisers Hyderabad. But if you don’t hit that back-of-a-length ball and he’s able to pull it or get top edges early, then those deliveries don’t stay in play and disappear over the boundary,” Bishop said.
How veterans will have to keep changing plans
Bishop also suggested the way established bowlers are forced to reshuffle their strategies is a sign of how well Sooryavanshi is currently set up technically. He pointed to the fact that during matches in this IPL, seasoned pacers are not sticking to one method; instead, they are cycling through multiple plans—reflecting the difficulty of landing the right ball in the right moment against the teenager.
“So, I believe he’s set up very well. There are a number of world-class bowlers in this tournament running plan A, plan B, plan C, plan E, F, and G. That’s a good indication that, as they try to nail yorkers—yorkers—at him in the previous game—he’s handling the pressure. From that perspective, he’s set up well,” Bishop added.
