‘Throw age out the window’: Kagiso Rabada’s blunt view of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi of Rajasthan Royals (AP Photo/Ashwini Bhatia) Kagiso Rabada believes Rajasthan Royals teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s remarkable IPL 2026 campaign was built on fearless cricket, quick reflexes and an ability to read bowlers earlier than most players his age.Gujarat Titans’ temper was full of praise for the 15-year-old after Friday’s Qualifier 2, where Sooryavanshi’s stunning 96 came in vain as GT chased down 215 to secure a seven-wicket victory and book their place in the IPL 2026 final against Royal Challengers Bengaluru.Sooryavanshi lit up the match again with a 47-ball 96, after his blistering 97 in the Eliminator. The teenager ended the season with 776 runs, ending his campaign at the top of the run-scoring charts for now, although Shubman Gill still has an opportunity to overtake him in Sunday’s final. Sooryavanshi also narrowly missed his second century after being dismissed by Rabada.After the match, Rabada admitted that Sooryavanshi continues to surprise everyone with his maturity and attacking approach.“He just keeps everyone watching the game amazing. He’s got such quick hands and he picks up the length quickly. He’s got so much energy.”The South African said the youngster’s fearless mindset was one of the biggest reasons for his success this season.“When you’re young you have so much energy and no fear and that’s exactly what he showed, no fear and just a natural instinct for the game that allows him to perform what he does.”Rabada felt that Sooryavanshi’s performances had already moved beyond the age debate.“You throw age out the window at this stage; it doesn’t matter how old he is. It’s amazing what he does.”Earlier, Gujarat’s pace attack put Rajasthan under pressure as Mohammed Siraj and Rabada struck early. But Sooryavanshi fought back again, sharing a valuable partnership with Ravindra Jadeja, who remained unbeaten on 45 as Rajasthan posted 214/6.Rabada, who finished with figures of 2/35 from his four overs, admitted that Gujarat were not at their best with the ball despite restricting Rajasthan to what they considered a par score.“The plan was to play to our strengths as we normally do and hopefully get early wickets. We got two early wickets but then they defended and we missed the mark by playing too many short balls where we probably wanted to challenge them a bit more up front.”The fast bowler said GT never felt out of the contest despite Sooryavanshi’s counter attack.“They got away from us a little bit but we knew we weren’t completely out because we knew we could still get wickets. We were in control of the game until the end of the 19th.”Rabada also acknowledged the challenge faced by Rashid Khan on a batting-friendly surface and felt that Gujarat could have restricted Rajasthan to a lower total.“It was quite difficult for Rashid (Khan) to come on and bowl that wicket as a spinner against some real power hitters. We probably felt 180-190 was what we should have restricted them to, apart from (Sooryavanshi’s) dropped catch.”GT eventually eased the chase through a magnificent century from skipper Shubman Gill and 167 runs with Sai Sudharsan reaching the target with eight balls to spare.Rabada also praised his bowling partnership with Siraj, saying the Indian pacer’s intensity and ability to create pressure has been key for Gujarat throughout the season.“Siraj is my partner this season. We just tried to work as a partnership. If he puts pressure on him from the other end, then hopefully I can do the same and get wickets.”“Everybody knows him. He’s got a lot of heart and he’s got a lot of skill too. It’s lovely to bowl to him because it just increases your wicket chances because someone at the other end is putting on as much pressure, if not more.”