Lofty expectations follow success, even if you are 14 years old. Coming into the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, most cricket enthusiasts expect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to smash records. In the last 12 months, the teenager has done some extraordinary things.
The most recent was a 175-run knock in the 2026 Under-19 ODI World Cup final. Before that, he’d struck hundreds in Youth Tests on tours of Australia and England. And of course, the start point was a 35-ball hundred in the IPL 2025, the second-fastest century in the league’s history.
Sooryavanshi ‘following the process’
A year later, nothing less than exceptional is expected from Sooryavanshi. But what is on the 14-year-old’s mind upon his Rajasthan Royals (RR) return? Does he want to smash another record-breaking hundred? Or breach the 500-run mark?
“If you ask me this, I’ll say 2,000 to 3,000 runs this season,” Sooryavanshi replied jokingly during a media interaction in Jaipur as Rajasthan Royals roped in JK Lakshmi Cement as their principal sponsor for IPL 2026. “I can’t really plan; I’m just following the process. The aim is to win the trophy for the team. There’s no focus on personal goals; we’ll just follow the process and look to do well this season,” he added.
Ever since he broke through the scene in 2024, all the attention has been on him. He’s the new shiny toy for the media. How does a 14-year-old manage it?
“I just try to focus on my job. Whenever you do well in any field, you get attention. You have to learn to handle it. Right now, I’m not trying to do media. I’m focusing on my game. Luckily, I’m playing regular matches,” Sooryavanshi answered.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi stats in IPL & T20s
| Innings | Runs | Highest Score | Average | SR | 100s | 50s | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL | 7 | 252 | 101 | 36.00 | 206.55 | 1 | 1 |
| T20s | 18 | 701 | 144 | 41.23 | 204.37 | 3 | 1 |
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