Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is quickly becoming a defining new name in the IPL—not only for the numbers he is producing, but for the ripple effect he appears to be creating across Indian cricket. If the league once carried the aura of MS Dhoni’s 07, Virat Kohli’s 18, or Rohit Sharma’s 45, then Sooryavanshi’s 03 is now moving into that same kind of rare, iconic territory. The chaos he has unleashed in IPL 2026—through aggressive run-making and a relentless appetite for sixes—has even ignited a fresh wave of enthusiasm inside the Rajasthan Royals setup.
Reports have highlighted that the franchise is seeing an unusual spike in demand for Sooryavanshi-related merchandise, something that fans at Rajasthan have not experienced at this scale since the league began. The surge is not being described as a typical bump around a star’s breakout either; it has been framed as a surge in requests that has caught the team’s commercial and fanbase dynamics off guard.
One Rajasthan Royals source pointed out that the jersey has become the standout item, with nearly every request focused on Sooryavanshi’s shirt. “His jersey is in huge demand. Everyone has been asking only for his jersey. It’s the most-sold jersey too. We have never seen such demand,” the source said.
The merchandise boom arrives just a day after Sooryavanshi once again dismantled the bowling unit of Sunrisers Hyderabad. In the Eliminator at New Chandigarh, he produced a sensational 97 off just 28 balls, a knock that propelled Rajasthan into Qualifier 2, where they are set to face Gujarat Titans.
Against a bowling attack spearheaded by Pat Cummins, Sooryavanshi struck with the same kind of authority, launching another storm of sixes and boundaries. The impact of his hitting was such that it disrupted and neutralised the plans the opposition had tried to implement, forcing every approach to break down under the pressure of his batting.
His 12 sixes in that innings pushed his overall season tally to 65 maximums. That total helped him surpass Chris Gayle’s long-standing IPL mark for the most sixes in a single edition, adding another milestone to his already fast-growing list of achievements.
Sooryavanshi also came extremely close to yet another Gayle record—the fastest century in IPL history. He ultimately fell short by a single delivery, getting out for 97. The dismissal meant he missed out on what would have been his second IPL hundred of the season and his first ton away from Jaipur.
After receiving the Player of the Match award at the post-game presentation, Sooryavanshi explained his mindset. “I got to know after the game,” he said. “My focus was on hitting a six. I will score centuries in future, but the focus was on getting maximum runs for the team. I just work on my plans and, if there are shortcomings, I try to improve them.”
