Virat Kohli capped off Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s title-winning run in the IPL 2026 final with a heartfelt moment for one of the tournament’s brightest young prospects. In Ahmedabad, shortly after the championship match, Kohli sat down for a warm conversation with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi—an opening batter who had been turning heads all season. The veteran, himself a multiple-time Orange Cap winner, watched the 15-year-old collect his maiden Orange Cap, having produced a stunning haul of 776 runs across the campaign.
With the IPL season grinding to its close—marked by a flood of 200-plus team totals and huge hitting—Kohli shared some direct, practical guidance with the Rajasthan Royals teenager. RCB posted a video of the exchange from the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, highlighting how Kohli urged the youngster to keep his focus and not become complacent after reaching such an early milestone. The core message was simple: use the success as fuel, not as a stopping point.
Sooryavanshi’s rise has been impossible to ignore since the competition began. His explosive performances have drawn widespread attention online, and even some of India’s former internationals have argued for his swift inclusion in the national T20I setup. Kohli, however, believes the next step for the teenager is to block out outside chatter and stay anchored in his process rather than being distracted by opinions, hype, or the volume of reactions around him.
In the video, Kohli delivered the advice in Hindi, saying, “Yaha se upar jaana hai. Jo hua hai vo achi mehnat ki wajah se, belief ki wajah se hua hai. Abhi kaun kya bol raha hai, kaise bol raha hai.. (nahi sunna hai). Ek Bihari sab pe bhari, phir khatam game.” The message roughly translates to: you need to go even higher from here; what you’ve achieved has come through hard work and self-belief; don’t pay attention to who is saying what or how they’re saying it. Once your own momentum takes over, the result follows.
For a 15-year-old batter, it was a timely reminder—one that could hardly have come from a more credible source. The same season that saw Kohli lift the IPL trophy with RCB, after they overcame the Gujarat Titans in the final, also turned Sooryavanshi into the headline act on the individual awards front. The teenager slammed 72 sixes, a new all-time IPL record for most maximums in a single season, and finished with 776 runs at an average of 48.50. He also struck at 237.30, underlining how relentlessly he converted opportunities into big scores.
His impact went beyond totals and strike rate as well: Sooryavanshi became the first batter in any T20 tournament worldwide to score more than 500 runs in the powerplay in a single season. With Kohli’s message ringing in his ears after the title celebrations, the Orange Cap winner now heads into the next phase of his career with a clear focus—improve further, stay consistent, and let the work speak louder than the noise.
