Kumar Sangakkara Shares Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Amazing Story: ‘He Said He Hit 13 Sixes’

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (ANI photo) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may still be waiting to make his India debut, but the teenage sensation has already wowed some of the biggest names in world cricket. After former India spinner Ravi Ashwin urged fans to be patient with the youngster’s development, Rajasthan Royals head coach and Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara shared remarkable stories that perfectly captured the fearless mindset and extraordinary confidence of the 15-year-old batsman.Speaking on Sky Sports Cricket during coverage of the first T20I between India and Ireland, Sangakkara recalled Sooryavanshi confidently predicting match-winning runs long before he took the field. He also revealed how the youngster fearlessly took on England ace Jofra Archer in the nets during Rajasthan Royals’ early training camp, leaving everyone in awe.Kumar Sangakkara said on Sky Sports Cricket:“This year we played Lucknow Super Giants. We had to chase 220 to win the match and stay in the competition. We batted first. Vaibhav came up to me, winked and said, “Coach, don’t worry. It’s done.”“Then he went into the locker room and said to Donovan Ferreira and Lhuan-dre Pretorius, ‘Listen, you two. I’m going to hit 13 sixes. Once I do that, you do the rest.’ He ended up hitting 10. When he hit five or six sixes, Donovan and Pretorius looked at each other and thought, “What is he talking about?” Then they started counting because they realized this kid could actually do it. That is the level he has,” Sankakkara said.Sangakkara also recalled his first impression of Sooryavanshi during the Rajasthan Royals camp in Guwahati.“The first time I saw Vaibhav was when I came to Guwahati for a two-week camp. There was this little side net where the likes of Jofra Archer and Sandeep Sharma were throwing the new ball and nobody really wanted to bat. Then Vaibhav came in and just said, ‘I’m going to bat. Every time the ball hit the middle of his bat, it sounded like Ateep Archerma. It sounded like Ateep Archerma. one point, I think Archer just stopped and laughed because he was bowling really fast and this 14-year-old kid was absolutely disdainful of him,” he added.

Star IPL 2026

Sooryavanshi announced himself on the biggest stage during IPL 2026 and enjoyed a record-breaking campaign for Rajasthan Royals. The left-hander finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 776 runs and won the Orange Cap, MVP, Emerging Player, Super Striker and Super Sixes awards. His fearless approach, highlighted by a stunning 97 off 29 balls in the Eliminator and a century in Qualifier 2, made him one of the brightest young talents in world cricket.