Vibhu Suryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (ANI Photo)
Vibhu Suryavanshi continues to dominate IPL 2026 with his fearless batting, getting off to an explosive start almost every time he steps out. Rajasthan Royals. The 15-year-old hasn’t always converted those starts into big scores, but his impact in the powerplay has provided consistency for RR’s innings. Suryavanshi has now scored 486 runs in 12 matches this season, including one century and two fifties. His aggressive intent has taken Rajasthan to a 60-run lead within the first six overs, giving their middle-order a strong platform. He again made a strong impact against Delhi Capitals, scoring 46 off just 21 balls to take RR to 75/1 at the end of the Powerplay in another fast start. In the process, the 15-year-old opener went into the past Abhishek SharmaThe previous record was 42 sixes in IPL 2024 and now tops this season with 43 maximum sixes. The milestone further highlighted the fearless batting style that has made Suryavanshi one of the biggest stars of IPL 2026. RR head coach speaking during the broadcast Kumar Sangakkara Praised the youngster’s intent and said the team is more focused on impact than conversion rate. “Rather take 30 over not many any day, especially at the pace he gets them. Yeah, he hasn’t continued as much as we’d like or he’d like. But I think the fact that he’s hitting the ball well, he’s getting us really fired up, and we’ve got six to seven other batsmen who can really keep the pressure on,” Sangkar said, and the teammate added to the pressure. He added that Suryavanshi’s greatest strength is his natural style of batting. “The most interesting thing is how he looks at batting. He looks at it like all of us at 15, as a kid. He loves it, he bats for a long time, and that’s the most interesting thing. He really reads the game, so it’s not just hitting with him,” he said. Sangakkara also stressed that RR should avoid overloading him with technical instructions. “He’s very curious, but I’m very careful not to have too long a conversation with him. He just needs to relax and bat. If we chat, it’s a lot about things other than cricket. A few things here and there, but I want to leave him alone to enjoy what he does,” he added. On preparation, Sangakkara revealed that conversations on the net are more about reading situations than technical fixes. “In the nets, those are the things we really talk about. When he practises, we talk to him about what the bowlers can do, and he gets an idea of what they can do with it – the short ball, the swing yorker. So we’ll practice them a little bit, but the more we tell him it’s just a commitment. Whatever you do and whatever you decide to do, you have to be 100% committed to that option,” he explained. When asked if he plays a mentoring or fatherly role, Sangakkara clarified that Suryavanshi does not need that level of intervention. “No, no, he doesn’t need it at all. He’s a much better player than I am, so he needs a little help but not much.”
