Lalit Modi has tipped Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as \u201cthe face of Indian cricket in the future,\u201d praising the teenage Rajasthan Royals batter for the impact he\u2019s making with the bat. The 15-year-old has carried his early-season momentum straight from his breakout debut, and in IPL 2026 he sits seventh in the race for the Orange Cap. He\u2019s also Royals\u2019 leading run-getter, having amassed 200 runs in five matches at an average of 40.00, alongside a strike rate of 263.15. Sooryavanshi has already produced two half-centuries this season.<\/p>\n
On April 10 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, the teenager announced himself with a devastating 78 off just 26 balls. His innings came packed with eight fours and seven sixes, and he struck at 300.00. While the knock was explosive, Modi noted that Sooryavanshi appeared slightly frustrated afterward because he fell short of a century.<\/p>\n
Speaking to Michael Vaughan on Overlap Cricket, Lalit Modi described how he initially struggled to believe Sooryavanshi\u2019s age during the youngster\u2019s first IPL campaign in 2025. The former IPL chief said he thought there was no way a player of that age could be performing at such a level.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can tell you that kid is going to go out there and be the face of Indian cricket in the future. Look at the confidence on the kid\u2019s face. 14 years old! My son is 14\u2026 I saw this kid hit, and I thought, \u2018Not possible, I am dreaming. It\u2019s not possible that this kid is 14. Seriously?\u2019\u201d Modi said. He added that he started checking information on his phone, reaching out to people, and even questioning whether the age details were being misreported. \u201cI am Googling it, I am calling out people, asking, \u2018Is this real or is somebody making this up?\u2019 And I am getting these messages, and I tell them I am watching. Not once, not twice, this guy has outperformed everybody,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n
Modi believes there are plenty of other young and gifted players coming through in India, attributing much of that to the environment created by the IPL. \u201cThe good thing is we probably have another 50 of them in our country,\u201d he said, highlighting the league\u2019s role in giving emerging talent a platform. He went on to explain that the IPL has widened the pathway for aspiring cricketers, creating an \u201carena\u201d where youngsters can dream bigger and aim higher.<\/p>\n
Sooryavanshi first drew widespread attention last year after Sanju Samson was ruled out with an injury. He earned his debut against Lucknow Super Giants, stepping into the Rajasthan Royals opening slot. At 14 years and 23 days old, he became the youngest player in IPL history.<\/p>\n
In that debut season, he struck 252 runs in seven matches, posting an average of 36.00 and a strike rate of 206.55. His return included one half-century and a hundred.<\/p>\n
Heading into IPL 2026, Sooryavanshi has formed a strong opening partnership with Yashasvi Jaiswal, and the duo has been central to Rajasthan Royals\u2019 position in the top three. The pair\u2019s consistency has helped the franchise maintain a third-place spot in the points table.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Lalit Modi has tipped Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as \u201cthe face of Indian cricket in the future,\u201d praising the teenage Rajasthan Royals batter for the impact he\u2019s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3292,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_yoast_wpseo_title":"Lalit Modi Backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for IPL 2026","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"Lalit Modi declares Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the future face of Indian cricket after his explosive IPL 2026 start\u2014200 runs, blazing strike rate, top form.","footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl"],"yoast_head":"\n