-15-Year-Old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Explosive Knock Ends Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Campaign
New Chandigarh, May 28 (H.S.): Rajasthan Royals’ young batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi produced a breathtaking display of power-hitting on Wednesday night in the Eliminator of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, leaving Sunrisers Hyderabad stunned and ending their campaign in dramatic fashion. The 15-year-old batter smashed 97 runs off just 29 balls, completely changing the course of the match.
His explosive batting during the powerplay left Hyderabad’s bowlers helpless. Following the remarkable innings, Rajasthan Royals players and team management openly praised Sooryavanshi’s confidence and fearless mindset.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Rajasthan Royals wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel said, “Vaibhav’s biggest strength is that he does not overthink or make too many plans. He practices a lot and has complete faith in himself. There is never any doubt in his mind that he cannot do something.”
Jurel further explained that Sooryavanshi’s game is built on a very simple mindset.
He said, “When we go to academies, we are taught not to look at the bowler, only the ball. But at the age of 17 or 18, we often feel pressure after seeing the name of the bowler. Vaibhav is completely different. He only watches the ball.”
Smiling, he added, “His mantra is very clear — it doesn’t matter to me who the bowler is.”
Sunrisers Hyderabad assistant coach James Franklin admitted that his team tried everything possible to stop Suryavanshi but failed to contain him.
Franklin said, “There was a very small margin for error while bowling against him. On a good batting surface, it becomes extremely difficult to stop a player like that. Initially, we tried bowling full and targeting the leg-stump line, but he quickly adapted to it.”
He revealed that Hyderabad also experimented with multiple field settings, but Sooryavanshi continued to strike boundaries and sixes with ease.
Franklin said, “I don’t think cricket has seen a talent like this before. What he is doing at this age is unbelievable. If he still has 25 years left in his career, it is frightening to imagine how much better he can become. T20 cricket has now become a game for fearless players.”
Franklin added that the younger generation has completely changed the way T20 cricket is played.
He said, “Today’s young players do not fear the game. They have grown up watching T20 cricket on television since childhood. Batters now think only about hitting as many boundaries and sixes as possible, while bowlers are constantly trying new variations.”
He further stated, “The pace of T20 cricket has changed tremendously over the last five years. Especially in the IPL, the speed of the game is far greater than in any other T20 league in the world.”
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Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar
