Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may still be waiting for his India debut, but the teenage sensation has already wowed some of the biggest names in world cricket. This comes after former India spinner Ravi Ashwin urged fans to be patient with the youngster’s development. rajasthan royals head coach and sri lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara The 15-year-old batsman’s fearless mentality and extraordinary confidence are perfectly captured in the brilliant shared story.Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket during the first T20I coverage of India-Ireland, Sangakkara recalled Sooryavanshi’s confident prediction of a match-winning performance long before he took the field. He also revealed how the youngster fearlessly took on England’s pace ace Jofra Archer Nets game during Rajasthan Royals’ early training camp and left everyone stunned.Kumar Sangakkara said on Sky Sports Cricket:“This year, we are playing against Lucknow Supergiants. We have to chase 220 to win the game and stay in the competition. We were the first to fight. Vaibhav walked up to me, winked and said, “Coach, don’t worry.” It was done.“Then he walked into the dressing room and told Donovan Ferreira and Luann Del Rey Pretorius, ‘Listen, you two. I’m going to hit 13 sixes. Once I do that, the rest is up to you.’ He ended up hitting 10. When he hit five sixes, Donovan and Pretorius looked at each other and thought, ‘What is he talking about?’ “Then they start counting because they realize this kid might actually do it. That’s his confidence level,” Sankakara said.Sangakkara also recalled his first impression of Sooryavanshi during the Rajasthan Royals training camp in Guwahati.“The first time I met Vaibhav was during a two-week training camp in Guwahati. There was a small side net and the likes of Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma were batting with the new ball, but no one really wanted to bat there. Then Vaibhav walked in and simply said, ‘I’ll bat.’ Every time the ball hit the middle of his bat, it sounded like a gunshot. He fought against Archer, he fought against Sandeep Sharma. At one point, I think Archer just stopped and laughed because he was bowling so fast and this 14-year-old was treating him with absolute contempt,” he added.
star Indian Premier League 2026
Sooryavanshi announced himself on the biggest stage during IPL 2026, having a record-breaking campaign for Rajasthan Royals. The left-hander emerged as the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 776 runs, winning the Orange Cap, MVP, Emerging Player, Super Forward and Super Six awards. His fearless performances, a stunning 97 off 29 balls in the knockout round and a century in Qualifier 2, have made him one of the brightest young talents in world cricket.
