Ahead of India’s tour of Ireland and England, Indian Premier League (IPL) chairman Arun Dhumal showed his support for the teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Many would have credited the franchise league for the rapid rise of the 15-year-old batter.
After claiming the orange cap in the IPL 2026 season, the batter received his maiden call-up to join the senior national team camp for the T20Is against Ireland and England. He has been included in the 2026 Asian Games squad as well.
The meteoric rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
At the rate the young opener has made his progress, his debut match for Team India is now only a matter of time. While many cricket fans credited IPL for the rise of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Arun Dhumal denies the claims. Dhumal says whatever Sooryavanshi has achieved so far is purely because of his talent.
The IPL chairman points out that before making headlines for the Rajasthan Royals in the franchise league, the batter did well in the Under-19 age group cricket. The 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup was another tournament where Vaibhav Sooryavanshi left his mark with his highly aggressive batting.
In the tournament, he hit 30 sixes, surpassing Dewald Brevis’ previous record of 18. In the final of the 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup, the southpaw made a record by scoring 175 runs off 80 balls (15 fours and 15 sixes).
Vaibhav has several other records in youth cricket, which carry the pure talent the batter has within. During the Asia Cup 2024-25, the opener smashed an explosive 144 runs off just 42 balls (century in 32 balls) against the UAE. 76 off 46 balls against the UAE and 67 off 36 balls against Sri Lanka in the ACC U19 Asia Cup were two other instances when the Indian batter left the cricket world stunned.
I would not say that because of the IPL: Arun Dhumal
“I would not say that because of the IPL, he is where he is today. He’s been doing consistently well for India Under-19. Who would have imagined that, in an Under-19 World Cup game, a 15-year-old kid would score 175 and take India to 400-plus runs?” IPL chairman Arun Dhumal said about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
“He made us win that tournament, including the final. So definitely, he’s done consistently well. And because of his performance, he’s getting into the team, not because of his age. He’s done exceptionally well for his age, and we wish him all the best as he wears the India cap,” he added.
VIDEO | IPL chairman Arun Dhumal backed teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is set to take another step in his fledgling career after a breakthrough IPL season following his India call-up for the Ireland and England T20I series.
While many have credited the IPL for… pic.twitter.com/UIsNxTjVlX
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) June 15, 2026
IPL 2026 was a standout season for the batter
IPL 2026 was the latest testament to the batter’s hitting abilities. In the season, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi aggregated 776 runs in 16 matches and as many innings for the Rajasthan Royals with a stunning strike rate of 237.30 and a batting average of 48.50.
After producing such numbers, the national team selectors called him up for the T20 Internationals. If things go according to expectations, Sooryavanshi can make his debut for Team India at the age of 15 only.
