Protect Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from evil eye: Ashwin sends message to RR star's parents

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s stunning IPL 2026 Eliminator knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad has now earned praise from Ravichandran Ashwin, with the former India spinner left impressed with the mental maturity of the Rajasthan Royals teenager at just 15 years of age. Ashwin even quipped that Sooryavanshi’s parents should protect the kid from the “evil eye” after his remarkable rise this season.

He then spoke on his YouTube channel Rajasthan Royals win over SRHAshwin said the teenager’s ability to improve and adapt in just one IPL season impressed him the most.

SRH vs RR: HIGHLIGHTS | SCORECARD

“I don’t want to play the 15-year-old card, but tell me how many matches did he play at the age of 15 to reach this level of mental maturity?” Ashwin said.

“If you remember his elevation over third man for a six, the same ball at the start of the season he was trying to play straight and was getting on top. He made such a difference in the season when he was just 15.”

Ashwin then went on to heap more praise on the RR wonder.

“He is not a normal player. His mom and dad have to do anything to remove the evil eye from him,” Ashwin added.

“The guy said in the post-match interview that the hundred will come later, I was trying to win the game for my team tonight. The way he bats, he doesn’t care about the hundreds because he knows he’s going to get them here and there.”

Ashwin also highlighted how Sooryavanshi answered questions about handling pressure during the playoffs.

“He was asked how he would perform under pressure and he was unbelievable,” Ashwin said.

HOW SOORYAVANSHI DISMANTLED SRH BOWLERY

SRH entered the Eliminator with one of the better bowling attacks of IPL 2026, but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi turned the night into a boundary exhibition in Mullanpur.

Pat Cummins kept rotating the bowlers and kept adjusting the field as the inning wore on. Pace, hard lengths, blockhole yorkers and short balls to the body were tested against the 15-year-old. Nothing really slowed him down for long.

Sooryavanshi raced to 50 in just 16 balls and never allowed SRH to settle. He ended up smashing 97 off just 29 deliveries to reach 334.48 with 12 sixes and five fours, just three runs short of the fastest century in IPL history.

It was scary for SRH how quickly he adapted in the innings. Soon he aimed anything full straight down the ground. As the bowlers shortened the length, he started approaching the square boundaries with uppercuts and pulls. Anything that hit the pads disappeared over the rear square leg.

Cummins himself went for four sixes against the teenager, while even SRH’s rotation and fielding defense could not stop the momentum once Vaibhav got through the first few overs.

In the end, Sooryavanshi fell short by just three runs what would be the fastest century in IPL history, but his knock had already propelled Rajasthan Royals to a massive total of 243 for 8.

By the time he finally got out, Rajasthan Royals had already blown the game open and SRH were left chasing shadows in a knock-out match that quickly spiraled out of control.

The innings also further fueled talks about his future with the Indian team. The teenager has now scored 680 runs this season at an average of 45.33 and a staggering strike rate of 242.86, figures rarely seen even among established T20 stars.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

28 May 2026 14:13 IST