Say it out loud. Sooryavanshi. If that’s too challenging, break it up into syllables: Soor-ya-van-shi. Now add Vaibhav, so the name becomes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. If that looks daunting, relax; you don’t need to master two unusual names in 10 seconds.
Everyone just calls him Sooryavanshi.
You’re being asked to get your tongue around Sooryavanshi’s name for good reason: it’s going to be coming up regularly in the years to come. At 15, he’s India’s latest young batting sensation, having scored 776 runs for the Rajasthan Royals in this season’s recently completed Indian Premier League (IPL), the highest aggregate of runs in the competition.
It’s been a heady period for Sooryavanshi. At the beginning of the year, very few outside of a select few members of the Indian cricket cognoscenti even knew who he was. In February, however, he scored 175 for India in the final of the under-19 World Cup against England. That’s some score, but even more remarkable was the fact that the innings was made off a mere 80 balls.
A couple of months after his 175, he turned out for the Royals in this season’s IPL. He’d played seven matches for them last season and, while impressive, many of cricket’s hardened observers were expecting the second-season blues for the talented player.
They pointed out that we live in an age of data-driven analytics in modern sport. As a result, it doesn’t take much to unpick a batsman’s weaknesses. Perhaps he’s suspect against the short ball? Maybe he falls over when playing through the leg side? He could be loose on fourth stump, or a carthorse between the wickets. If there was a weakness, it would be found.
As much as his ball striking is impressive, his mental game is equally impressive
— Tom Moody
Well, if a weakness is there, they’re still looking for it. This season Sooryavanshi’s strike rate improved, his six-scoring ability improved and his sheer destructiveness was off the charts. As Tom Moody, director of cricket for the Lucknow Super Giants, told Cricinfo: “It’s not second-season blues, not at all; it’s green — it’s go.”
Moody wasn’t only beguiled by Sooryavanshi’s devastating technique, he was impressed with his resilience. “He’s brushed all the mental pressures associated with a second season aside without an issue. To me, as much as his ball striking is impressive, his mental game is equally impressive.”
Sooryavanshi’s 2026 IPL stats are worth repeating. In 16 matches for the Royals — the season was a mammoth nine weeks — he scored his runs at a strike rate of 237.30.
A more tangible statistic might be that he scored a stellar 72 sixes, surpassing Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of 59 IPL sixes. Looked at from a slightly different angle, Sooryavanshi batted 16 times, so scored about 4½ sixes per innings. That’s not too shabby. It helps along the scoring; it helps along his own strike rate. If it’s done for any length of time, it allows you to nudge the famed 200-run mark and leap beyond it. That’s a tough ask if you’re batting second.
Despite Sooryavanshi’s wrecking-ball form, the Royals couldn’t get beyond qualifier two. Here, despite posting 214/6 in their 20 overs (Sooryavanshi hit 96 off 47 balls) against the Gujarat Titans, they lost the game by seven wickets — the Titans collapsing over the line with eight balls to spare. For his all-round heroics in the tournament, Sooryavanshi earned himself a mid-range SUV — a Tata Sierra. He can’t drive it yet and will only be allowed to get his licence when he turns 18.
While there’s no doubting Sooryavanshi’s strength, cricket brilliance and mental fortitude, we shouldn’t blithely accept the slightly hysterical consensus that has quickly grown up around him. Does anyone remember Graeme Hick? Or, for that matter, Mark Ramprakash? Both provide salutary lessons in doing brilliantly in county cricket only to be found wanting in Tests — the higher form.
Granted, the comparison between IPL and county cricket isn’t entirely fair, but Sooryavanshi has yet to face a probing over in fading light against Josh Hazlewood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. He has yet to face the steepling bounce of Kagiso Rabada on a highveld morning at the Wanderers.
Yes, we are in the midst of watching a talent grow. But there’s an over or two to go before close of play. As crusty old hands will tell you without you really asking, it’s a difficult period to negotiate.
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