Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: Too Soon or Deserving Candidate for India call-up?
Sooryavanshi: The teenager setting IPL alight in 2026
From Sachin Tendulkar to Rahul Dravid and Virat Kohli, India is no stranger to producing some of the greatest cricketers the world has seen, and now they have another prodigy on their hands in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
At just 15 years old, Sooryavanshi is already drawing comparisons to the legendary Tendulkar due to his fearless and almost effortless batting performances over the past year, which began in last season's Indian Premier League and continued for the India under-17s.
The teenager has made a blistering start to this year’s IPL, already on 122 runs in just three matches after another quick-fire knock in the victory over the Mumbai Indians on Tuesday - which confirmed our IPL predictions - where he blasted 39 runs off just 14 deliveries, including one 4 and five 6s.
That innings saw Sooryavanshi surpass the record held by Ishan Ishan and Rishabh Pant for the most sixes in the IPL before turning 20 (30 sixes each). He is now the first teenager to smash more than 30 maximums in the history of the IPL.
With that result, the Royals are now leading the IPL with three wins from three games. Sooryavanshi, meanwhile, is currently fourth in the Orange Cap standings, but has the highest strike rate (248.97) of any player to score 100+ runs in the competition to date.
IPL 2026 Orange Cap standings
| POS | Player | Runs | Mat | Inns | NO | HS | Avg | BF | SR | 100 | 50 | 4s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | 170 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 77* | 170 | 104 | 163.46 | 0 | 2 | 19 | 8 |
| 2 | Sameer Rizvi | 160 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 90 | 160 | 98 | 163.26 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 11 |
| 3 | Heinrich Klaasen | 145 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 62 | 48.33 | 98 | 147.95 | 0 | 2 | 11 | 4 |
| 4 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | 122 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 40.67 | 49 | 248.97 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 11 |
| 5 | Rohit Sharma | 118 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 78 | 39.33 | 70 | 168.57 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 |
| 6 | Jos Buttler | 116 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 52 | 38.67 | 74 | 156.75 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 7 |
| 7 | Devdutt Padikkal | 111 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 61 | 55.5 | 55 | 201.81 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 |
| 8 | Angkrish Raghuvanshi | 110 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 52 | 55 | 65 | 169.23 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 4 |
| 9 | Shubman Gill | 109 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 70 | 54.5 | 72 | 151.38 | 0 | 1 | 10 | 5 |
| 10 | Cooper Connolly | 108 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 72* | 108 | 66 | 163.63 | 0 | 1 | 11 | 5 |
BCCI urged to select Sooryavanshi for England tour
After scoring a stunning half-century in his opening match of this year’s IPL against the Chennai Super Kings and following up in his next two games, the Indian fans and several former players, including Michael Vaughan, are shouting for the BCCI to consider calling Sooryavanshi up to the senior team.
The teenager has already proven that he can take on some of the best bowlers in the world, as he did when carting Jasprit Bumrah over the ropes in the victory over Mumbai. In an interview with the media following RR’s victory over CSK, Vaughan said:
“There's a white-ball tour to England in a few months' time. And if I was Indian cricket, I would get him on that tour. Just bring him in, and if he plays one or two games, fantastic, but get him on a tour.”
Sooryavanshi turned 15 on March 27 this year, meaning that he is now eligible to represent the Indian team at the senior level. The BCCI are expected to announce their team for the tour of England before the end of the 2026 IPL - will Sooryavanshi make history for the Men in Blue later this year?
