Rajasthan Royals’ exit from IPL 2026 left 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi visibly crushed, and the young batter’s despair was so plain that even Ravichandran Ashwin appeared genuinely moved. In the qualifier, Sooryavanshi produced a brilliant knock of 96 to help RR edge past the 200-run mark, but Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan provided the kind of platform that made the chase look manageable. Ultimately, their side chased down the target of 215 with eight balls to spare, condemning Rajasthan to a second-place finish in Qualifier 2 on Friday.
Ashwin’s message after the qualifier
- After the match, Ashwin shared his reaction through a video posted on his YouTube channel, focusing on how hard the defeat hit the Rajasthan teenager.
- He said that the disappointment on Sooryavanshi’s face was unmistakable, describing the 15-year-old as someone whose mindset is always centred on winning for his team.
- Ashwin, who has also represented Rajasthan in the past, added that the Royals never looked like they were truly in the contest over the full course of the innings.
- He pointed out that, with the bat, only Ravindra Jadeja and Donovan Ferreira offered Sooryavanshi any real support, insisting that without the teenager, Rajasthan would likely have fallen well short of a defendable total.
- Ashwin’s assessment of RR’s batting was blunt: he cited multiple dismissals at key moments—mentioning Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, and Riyan Parag—as proof that the innings lacked sustained resistance.
- He also referenced the late phase struggles, including the low-scoring effort from Dasun Shanaka, where he described leaving balls untouched and then facing a bouncer, as Rajasthan failed to accelerate.
- Even when Jofra Archer came in at number six and Ferreira was present at the end, Ashwin felt the reality was the same—Sooryavanshi received little backing to keep the scoreboard moving.
- Despite the criticism, Ashwin reserved special praise for the effort: he described Sooryavanshi as the lone batter standing between Rajasthan and a more severe loss, fighting on even when the strike situation turned awkward after the 10th over.
- Concluding his remarks, Ashwin highlighted the sheer quality of Sooryavanshi’s batting and said the youngster’s talent was simply “incredible.”
