Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (ANI Photo) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might be making headlines with his batting in IPL 2026, but off the field, the 15-year-old batting sensation has also become the center of a rather unusual stream of conversation. From calls for an immediate India debut to debates over whether the timing is right, the buzz surrounding the Rajasthan Royals teenager has only continued to grow with each fearless innings.Sooryavanshi has such prodigious talent that it seems almost surreal at times to watch a 15-year-old take apart some of the best bowlers in world cricket with such ease. Naturally, it also opened the door to some bizarre theories and lip reactions.
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Debut in India: Calls are getting louderThere have been humorous suggestions from across the border that there may be an “AI chip” in his bat. Former Rajasthan Royals teammate and T20 great Jos Buttler even joked that he messaged Jofro Archer if Sooryavanshi was an AI created by Elon Musk.And now, adding another layer to the ever-growing folklore of Sooryavanshi, comes a completely different and unexpected claim.Social activist, CM Shivakumar Nayak, in a video that went viral on social media, alleged that the teenager was being “exploited” by the professional cricket system and said that he intends to file a police complaint or legal case against Rajasthan Royals for allegedly violating child rights and child labor laws.Bizarre as it may sound, the comments quickly gained traction online, becoming the latest addition to a growing list of conversations surrounding the teenage prodigy.“This 15-year-old boy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals is being exploited. He is just a kid, he is only 15 years old and they brought him to IPL to play professional cricket. This is nothing but child labour.”“How can they get a minor boy to play in a big league like this? He should focus on his studies at this tender age, go to school and complete his education instead of playing cricket,” Nayak said. Nayak further argued that allowing Sooryavanshi to compete at this level is setting a “very bad precedent” for youth across the country.“I strongly condemn this and file a police complaint or legal case against Rajasthan Royals management for violating child rights and child labor laws. Don’t let this boy play IPL cricket, it’s child labour, he should study,” he added. After all, Sooryavanshi has become one of the biggest stories of IPL cricket over the last two seasons.Since making his debut in April 2025 at the age of just 14 years and 23 days, Sooryavanshi has emerged as one of the most explosive young batsmen in T20 cricket. In IPL 2025 and IPL 2026, he scored 656 runs in 17 matches at an average of 38.59 and an amazing strike rate of 224.66, including two hundreds and three fifties. In 2025, he created history by becoming the youngest ever T20 centurion when he smashed 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans, with the hundred coming in just 35 balls, the second fastest century in IPL history. In IPL 2026, he continued his remarkable rise with another century as he scored 103 off 37 balls against Sunrisers Hyderabad.Apart from the IPL, Sooryavanshi played in the 2026 Under-19 World Cup and led the Indian National Under-19 Cricket Team to the title, winning the Player of the Tournament after a stunning 175 off 80 balls in the final against the England Under-19 National Cricket Team. He also holds the records of being the youngest player to score a List A century and the fastest Bihar batsman to reach 150 runs in domestic cricket.
