Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the best batsman in the world right now: Shubman Gill

Even a match-winning century from Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill could not overshadow the brilliance of Rajasthan Royals’ teenage sensation, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. After their high-stakes clash in Qualifier 2, Gill showered the 15-year-old prodigy with the highest praise, boldly declaring him the best batsman in the world right now.

Titans book their place in the final of IPL 2026 after defeating Royals, but Sooryavanshi’s brave 96 off just 47 balls remained the talk of the cricketing world. Speaking at the pre-match press conference ahead of the summit clash, Gill expressed his utter respect for the youngster’s fearless approach and technical brilliance.

“I think it’s just a remarkable season for him. I’ve never seen anybody bat like that. He’s one of the best hitters in the world right now. It’s remarkable to see him, not just his hitting, but his bat mechanics and his hand speed, no matter what opposition he’s playing against. The way he didn’t care about the flyer, but he was still able to get back into the game, I thought about us coming back into the game and constantly putting us back under pressure. the opposition playing against him will have a hard time.”

Gill’s praise was well deserved Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking knock kept RR in the hunt despite facing a ferocious bowling attack. The defining moment of his coming of age came when he was hit on the helmet by a sharp, rising bouncer from GT speedster Kagiso Rabada. Instead of a ruckus, the young opener calmly underwent the mandatory medical, dusted himself off and continued to dismantle the opposition bowling. During this spectacular innings, the prodigy also broke records by becoming the fastest player to reach 1,000 IPL runs in terms of balls faced – surpassing all-rounder Andre Russell – and the second fastest in terms of innings (23) behind Shaun Marsh (21).

While Rajasthan’s campaign was brought to a heartbreaking halt, Gujarat Titans are now gearing up to face Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 final in Ahmedabad on May 31, setting up a thrilling rematch of their Qualifier 1 battle.

WHAT NEXT FOR VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI AFTER IPL 2026?

The young prodigy has little time to rest as his stellar domestic exploits have already opened the door to the international circuit. Sooryavanshi capped off a dream debut IPL season as the proud holder of the Orange Cap, amassing a whopping 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a staggering strike rate of 237.30, including a century and five fifties.

His reward for this historic run is a maiden call-up to the India A team for their upcoming assignment in Sri Lanka. All eyes will now be on the 15-year-old as he transitions from franchise cricket to the national set-up for the highly-anticipated tri-series set to begin on June 9.

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Issued by:

Debodinna Chakraborty

Published on:

30 May 2026 17:51 IST