Beyond Gayle, Beyond Tendulkar: Sooryavanshi so special Tom Moody turns to Don Bradman

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been the headliner of IPL 2026, regularly breaking records and garnering praise from the entire cricketing fraternity. The 15-year-old sensation recently broke Chris Gayle’s long-standing record of sixes in a single IPL season.As his incredible rise continues, comparisons with some of cricket’s biggest names have become inevitable. First came the comparisons with Chris Gayle due to his unmatched power and ability to clear boundaries at will. By smashing 65 sixes in the tournament, Sooryavanshi surpassed Gayle’s iconic tally of 59 sixes from the 2012 season, making the ‘Universe Boss’ comparison a natural one.He has also been compared to Sachin Tendulkar due to the remarkable maturity, fearless purpose and technical assurance he displayed at such a young age. Like the teenage Sachin, Sooryavanshi has shown the ability to thrive under immense pressure while bearing the expectations of millions.Now former Australian cricketer and coach Tom Moody has taken the comparison to a whole other level by invoking the name of the legendary Don Bradman. Speaking on ESPNcricinfo, Moody struggled to find a modern comparison to the teenager’s dominance.“I’m trying to figure out how to explain it. The only way to explain it is to ask someone to watch it and come up with their own description, because we’re witnessing something that I don’t think we’ve ever seen in this game format, or indeed any game format,” Tom Moddy said.“We’ve seen amazing things but not to this extreme. The only thing I can go back to is what Don Bradman was doing. Bradman averaged 100 in Test cricket and the drop to the next best was around 60, so we’re talking about that department. That’s in T20 cricket at the age of 15,” Moody added.

What attracted you most about Sooryavanshi?

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s IPL 2026 season has been nothing short of extraordinary. The 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals sensation dominated the tournament with 680 runs in 15 matches at a staggering rate of 242.85. With Qualifier 2 online, Vaibhav will challenge Mohammed Siraj and Kagiso Rabada in New Chandigarh.