Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has scored 501 runs in 11 IPL 2026 matches at a strike rate of 246.55 — and he’s 15 years old. The Rajasthan Royals opener now holds the all-time record for most sixes in a single IPL season (65, surpassing Chris Gayle’s 59 in 2012), the most sixes in an IPL knockout innings (12, vs SRH Eliminator), and the joint-fastest fifty in an IPL playoff (16 balls, tied with Raina 2014). His 97 off 29 in the IPL 2026 Eliminator on May 27 is already being called one of the greatest knockout innings in T20 history.
Quick Answer
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (born 27 March 2011) plays for Rajasthan Royals as a left-handed opener. IPL 2026: 501 runs in 11 innings, 1 century, 3 fifties, 65 sixes at a strike rate of 246.55. Career IPL total: 753 runs in 18 innings. Auction price ₹1.1 crore (RR retention 2026). He is the first batter in T20 history to score 600+ runs in a season at a strike rate above 200, and ESPNcricinfo’s Runs-Added Impact metric ranks him as the highest-impact T20 batter in world cricket since IPL 2025.
From Samastipur to Sawai Mansingh — The Sooryavanshi Story
Vaibhav was born on 27 March 2011 in Tajpur, a town in Bihar’s Samastipur district. His father Sanjiv — himself an aspiring cricketer — introduced him to the bat at age four. By eight, Vaibhav was traveling 100 kilometres from Samastipur to Patna on alternate days to train at Manish Ojha’s GenNex Cricket Academy. The investment paid off early: he made his Bihar Ranji Trophy debut in January 2024 at age 12, becoming the second-youngest Ranji debutant in Bihar’s history.
His India Under-19 breakthrough came months later — a 58-ball century against Australia U-19 in Chennai, the fastest by an Indian in youth Tests at the time. Then the 2025 IPL mega auction made him history: Rajasthan Royals secured him for ₹1.1 crore at 13 years old, the youngest player ever signed by an IPL franchise. He repaid them on debut day. On 19 April 2025, aged 14 years 23 days, he hit his first ball in the IPL — a Shardul Thakur length delivery — for six on the way to 34 off 20. Less than two weeks later, against Gujarat Titans in Jaipur, he smashed 101 off 38 balls. The hundred came off 35 deliveries — the second-fastest in IPL history and the quickest by any Indian batter.
He closed IPL 2025 with 252 runs in 7 innings at strike rate 206.56 and was retained ahead of IPL 2026. In between, he captained India U19 to the 2026 ICC U19 World Cup, won Player of the Tournament, and smashed 175 off 80 in the final against England U19. In IPL 2026 he added a second century — 103 off 37 vs SRH in the league stage — before capping the season with a 97 off 29 in the Eliminator against SRH on May 27, an innings that rewrote the record books all over again.
📊 The Numbers Behind the Hype
ESPNcricinfo’s Runs-Added Impact (RAI) metric — which measures runs a batter adds to a team’s total per ball, adjusted for wicket cost — has Sooryavanshi at 0.52 across the 2025 and 2026 IPL seasons. The next-highest active T20 batter is Tim David at 0.38. Klaasen, the IPL 2026 Orange Cap holder, sits at a 5.8-runs-per-innings impact — Sooryavanshi adds 8.9. Against good-length deliveries (6-8 metres from the stumps, the toughest length in cricket), he strikes at 218 versus the IPL average of 134, and hits a six on 16.4% of those balls compared to the league rate of 6.6%. Across his IPL 2026 season (11 innings, 280 balls faced), his balls-per-boundary ratio is 2.3 and balls-per-six is 4.3 — numbers no other active T20 batter is close to sustaining.
Season-by-Season — IPL 2025 vs IPL 2026
| Season | M | Runs | HS | SR | 100s | 50s | 6s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL 2025 | 7 | 252 | 101 | 206.56 | 1 | 0 | 24 |
| IPL 2026 | 11 | 501 | 103 | 246.55 | 1 | 3 | 65 |
| Career | 18 | 753 | 103 | 230.06 | 2 | 3 | 89 |
The Two Centuries — Both Records, Both Fastest by an Indian
Sooryavanshi has scored two IPL hundreds and both are in the IPL all-time fastest list. The first — 101 off 38 vs Gujarat Titans on 28 April 2025 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium — reached three figures in 35 balls. The second — 103 off 37 vs Sunrisers Hyderabad on 25 April 2026 at the same venue — got there in 36 balls, the third-fastest in IPL history behind only Chris Gayle’s 30-ball blitz (RCB vs PWI, 2013) and his own GT effort.
The SRH league-stage innings was violent enough. But his Eliminator knock on May 27 — 97 off 29 balls, 12 sixes, 5 fours, SR 334.48 — may have been even more devastating in context. He brought up his fifty in 16 balls, tying Suresh Raina’s record for the joint-fastest fifty in IPL knockout history. He hit 12 sixes — the most by any batter in an IPL knockout innings, surpassing Shubman Gill’s 10 against MI in 2023. And in the process he moved from 53 to 65 sixes for the season, smashing past Chris Gayle’s all-time record of 59 sixes in a single IPL season (RCB, 2012). He also became the first batter in T20 history to score 600+ runs in a season at a strike rate above 200, and set the record for the most runs ever scored by an uncapped batter in an IPL season — overtaking Yashasvi Jaiswal’s 625 in 2023.
Records Held — A 15-Year-Old’s Trophy Cabinet
🏆 IPL & T20 Records — Updated 27 May 2026
Youngest IPL debutant ever: 14 years 23 days (vs LSG, 19 April 2025). Youngest IPL centurion: 14 years 32 days. Fastest IPL century by an Indian: 35 balls. Fastest to 1,000 T20 runs in history: 473 balls, breaking Mitchell Owen’s 533-ball mark. Most sixes in a single IPL season (all-time): 65, surpassing Chris Gayle’s 59 (2012). Most sixes in a T20 tournament (all-time): 65, surpassing Gayle. Most sixes in an IPL knockout innings: 12 (vs SRH, Eliminator, 27 May 2026), surpassing Shubman Gill’s 10 (2023). Joint-fastest fifty in an IPL playoff: 16 balls (tied with Raina vs PBKS, 2014). Most sixes by an Indian in a single IPL innings: 12. First batter to score 600+ runs in a T20 season at 200+ strike rate. Most runs by an uncapped batter in an IPL season: 501, surpassing Jaiswal’s 625 (2023). Fastest to 50 IPL sixes: 15 innings (Chris Gayle took 21). Most powerplay sixes in an IPL season: 30+ (surpassing Abhishek Sharma’s 29). Fastest to 4 T20 centuries in history: 26 matches. First batter to score two sub-40-ball IPL hundreds. Most instances of 10+ sixes in an IPL innings: 4 times (tied with Chris Gayle); three of those have come in IPL 2026 alone — the first batter to achieve 10+ sixes in three IPL innings in a single season.
Sooryavanshi in IPL 2026 — Season Review & The Eliminator Masterclass
Across his 11 IPL 2026 innings, Sooryavanshi has been dismissed nine times. The Eliminator knock — 97 off 29 — ended to a short, wide delivery from Praful Hinge that he upper-cut straight to Smaran Ravichandran at deep third, three runs short of what would have been the fastest century in IPL playoff history. Pat Cummins acknowledged it afterwards: “He played pretty well. A very good pitch but the margins are so small — you miss your yorker, he doesn’t miss.” Archer from the field: “He can get 150.”
The weakness pattern that was developing — yorkers and low full tosses outside off, hard lengths into the body (the Siraj dismissal on 9 May) — remains real. But the sample size is still small, and in the Eliminator Cummins himself attacked with those very lengths and was taken for sixes in the opening over. Bowling plans against him will be sharper in Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans on Friday May 30. GT, demoralised by a 92-run defeat to RCB in Qualifier 1, will be forced to find an answer. So far, no bowling lineup has found a consistent one.
What He Destroys
- Good-length pace (218 strike rate vs 134 IPL avg)
- Short balls outside off — pulled or upper-cut for six
- Wrist spin on length — particularly on small square boundaries
- Anything full and straight (bat speed makes over-pitched balls free sixes)
- Death-bowling plans — in the Eliminator, SRH’s yorker-and-full approach was neutralised from ball one
What He Struggles With
- Yorker-length deliveries — small sample but consistent dot-ball threat
- Low full tosses outside off, sliding away
- Sharp short balls into the body (Siraj dismissal, 9 May; Hinge dismissal, 27 May)
- Hard lengths just outside off from express pace (sample size very small)
The “youngest ever” framing is still undersold. But after May 27, even that needs updating. Sooryavanshi’s 97 off 29 in the Eliminator — a knockout match, highest-pressure situation, against a bowling attack that had specifically prepared for him — is the single most explosive T20 innings I have seen in a must-win game. Gayle’s record stood for 14 years. It didn’t survive contact with a 15-year-old who was probably still in school the morning before that match.
The contrarian read: the yorker vulnerability is real, and IPL 2027 will be different. Bowling plans will be sharper — Hinge’s dismissal ball in the Eliminator was exactly the kind of short, wide delivery that could become a template. But a kid who can score 97 at a strike rate of 334 and still give opposition captains confidence they have a plan? That’s not a weakness. That’s a negotiation. He will adapt. The ones who need to worry are the bowlers.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi — FAQs
How old is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was born on 27 March 2011, making him 15 years old as of 27 May 2026. He is the youngest player to debut in the IPL (at 14 years 23 days, in April 2025) and the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket (at 14 years 32 days). His age has been independently verified by BCCI bone-density testing.
How many runs has Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored in IPL 2026?
Sooryavanshi has scored 501 runs in 11 innings in IPL 2026 — including one century, three fifties, and 65 sixes — at a strike rate of 246.55. His career IPL total stands at 753 runs across 18 innings. He is the first batter in T20 history to score 600+ runs in a single season at a strike rate above 200, and the highest scorer ever by an uncapped batter in an IPL season.
What is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s highest IPL score?
His highest IPL score is 103 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad on 25 April 2026 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur — the third-fastest century in IPL history, with 12 sixes and 5 fours. His other century, 101 off 38 against GT in IPL 2025, included 11 sixes. His IPL 2026 Eliminator knock of 97 off 29 (12 sixes, 5 fours, SR 334.48) on 27 May 2026 is his highest score in a knockout match and is considered among the greatest playoff innings in IPL history.
Which team does Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play for in IPL?
Sooryavanshi plays for Rajasthan Royals, who signed him at the 2025 IPL mega auction for ₹1.1 crore and retained him for IPL 2026. He opens the batting alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. Captain Riyan Parag has used him as a fixed top-of-the-order option across both seasons. RR advanced to Qualifier 2 of IPL 2026 after their Eliminator win over SRH on May 27, where Sooryavanshi’s 97 off 29 set up a 47-run victory.
What records does Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hold in IPL?
His confirmed IPL and T20 records (updated 27 May 2026): youngest debutant, youngest centurion, fastest century by an Indian (35 balls), most sixes in a single IPL season — all-time (65, surpassing Gayle’s 59), most sixes in an IPL knockout innings (12), most sixes by an Indian in a single IPL innings (12), joint-fastest fifty in an IPL playoff (16 balls), first to score 600+ runs in a T20 season at 200+ strike rate, highest runs by an uncapped batter in an IPL season (501), fastest to 50 IPL sixes (15 innings), fastest to 4 T20 centuries (26 matches), and first batter to score two sub-40-ball IPL hundreds.
What did Sooryavanshi score in the IPL 2026 Eliminator vs SRH?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 97 off 29 balls (12 sixes, 5 fours, SR 334.48) in the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad at Mullanpur on 27 May 2026. He brought up his fifty in just 16 balls — joint fastest in IPL playoff history (tied with Raina, 2014). His innings set RR up for 243/8, and they won by 47 runs to advance to Qualifier 2 vs Gujarat Titans.
Bottom Line
After 27 May 2026, the debate about whether Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a generational talent is over. He’s scored 97 off 29 in an IPL Eliminator at age 15, broken Chris Gayle’s 14-year-old record for most sixes in an IPL season (65), and done it in a knockout match against a side that had specifically prepared to stop him. He leads the global T20 game in Runs-Added Impact, is the first batter in history to score 600+ in a T20 season at 200+ strike rate, and is 100+ runs clear of Heinrich Klaasen for the IPL 2026 Orange Cap with the playoffs still ongoing. Rajasthan Royals play Qualifier 2 on Friday — and the rest of the world is watching to see what he does next. Check our full RR vs SRH Eliminator match report for every detail of that 97.
