The IPL 2026 has wrapped up just a couple of days ago, yet Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s performances are still impossible to shake off. The Rajasthan Royals opener—only 15 years old—took the attack to every part of the ground and never shied away from challenging established match-winners, striking at the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Pat Cummins, Kagiso Rabada, Mohammed Siraj and Josh Hazlewood. His run of dominance earned him five major honours, including the Orange Cap and the Most Valuable Player award for the season.
Sooryavanshi’s impact has also caught the attention of Sachin Tendulkar, who has highlighted the youngster as one of the biggest talking points of the IPL 2026 campaign. In the tournament’s 19th edition, the left-handed batter piled up 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.31. His haul included one century and three innings of 90-plus, underlining how consistently he could change the tempo of a chase or a set total.
While Tendulkar praised the sheer volume of runs, he felt Sooryavanshi’s effect reached further than numbers on the scorecard. In his view, opponents were always forced to think about the batter, and game plans were shaped around stopping him. He also commended the Samastipur, Bihar youngster for keeping his attacking mindset intact even when the situation grew most intense.
“Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had an influence on games that went beyond the runs he scored. Oppositions were thinking about him, teams were planning for him, and fans were waiting for him long before he arrived at the crease,” Tendulkar wrote in a Reddit post.
Tendulkar added that Sooryavanshi’s quick scoring in both the Eliminator and the Qualifier showed his intent didn’t change even as pressure rose. He also pointed out that the batter’s presence at the crease seemed to lift Rajasthan Royals’ belief every time he walked out.
Sooryavanshi carnage: the teenager’s role in the Royals’ run
The left-handed batter was a major reason Rajasthan reached Qualifier 2. Against Sunrisers Hyderabad, he produced a rapid 97 off 29 balls, helping the Royals post a platform that took them into a knockout meeting with Gujarat Titans in Mullanpur. In the Qualifier 2 clash versus Titans, Sooryavanshi struck 96, but it still wasn’t enough to carry Rajasthan into the final.
Gujarat Titans then relied on a standout performance from Shubman Gill to chase down the Royals’ target of 215, keeping their campaign alive.
Sooryavanshi also attended the IPL 2026 final between RCB and GT, watching from the same box as Jay Shah, Sourav Ganguly, Rajeev Shukla and others. He was joined by the Royals’ team manager, Romi Bhinder.
The next step for the teen prodigy will be the India A tri-nation series against Sri Lanka A and Afghanistan A, which begins on June 9. With the upcoming T20I series against Ireland and England on the horizon, it will be interesting to see whether his IPL form earns him a call-up to the senior India squad.
