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Alarm bells ring for Gujarat Titans after Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shows Jofra Archer no mercy in Rajasthan Royals’ nets

Some of the shots that the Bihar batsman played against Archer, they were simply out of this world.

Updated on: Apr 4, 2026, 08:28:27 IST
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And just like that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has become a big star. At an age where teens are usually clueless, the Bihar batsman is beating the living daylights out of fearsome fast bowlers from all over the world.

Last year Vaibhav Sooryavanshi punished GT big time. (PTI)
Last year Vaibhav Sooryavanshi punished GT big time. (PTI)

Sooryavanshi, who turned 15 late last month, has continued to enthral in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL) for Rajasthan Royals. The franchise, winner of the inaugural edition in 2008, has now released a video where Sooryavanshi is up against England fast bowler Jofra Archer in the nets. And the way the Indian batsman is treating Archer, it's nothing short of extraordinary. Archer, who regularly clocks 150kmph, didn't look to bother the teen cricketing sensation of India. Here is the video. Enjoy it with a cup of steaming coffee.

One can see in the video that Sooryavanshi is largely untroubled by Archer's pace. Except when the English fast bowler targets his rib cage area. There, Sooryavanshi looks a little crammed, unable to unleash a big shot. But the moment Archer is marginally offline, he is quick to pounce on it. One shot appears to have been pulled into the stands with perfect timing.

Also Read: How Dhoni became a hated figure: India won World Cup today in 2011 but afterwards he was vilified for undeniable reasons

Sooryavanshi, youngest player in the world to score a List A century, shows a wide range of his shots. There is no part of the ground that has not been smashed through by the batter. If the ball is a bit short and wide, he can be seen cutting it past point. If it’s a bit full angling away, he smashes it through the covers. There are not many deliveries where he appears to be showing respect to the World Cup-winning bowler. Archer, on the other hand, looks in awe of his prodigiousness.

The bitter memories of last year!

Rajasthan Royals are today playing their second game of the season. They are up against Gujarat Titans at Ahmedabad's Narendra Modi Stadium. In their first match against CSK, they breezed to a comfortable win, thanks to a 17-ball 52 from Sooryavanshi.

Looking at the video, one can safely say that GT bowlers will have to be very careful against Sooryavanshi. He appears to be in the form of his life, and if he is allowed to get a move on, GT would be in trouble. The hosts would surely remember how last year, Sooryavanshi had smashed a 35-ball century against them and made light work of a rather big target.

  • Prateek Srivastava
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Prateek Srivastava

    Prateek Srivastava is a senior sports journalist having been in the profession for two decades now. He started his print career with the India Today Group and later also worked for the Asian Age.   In 2009, sensing the wind of change, he switched to the digital media and joined Mobile ESPN. There, he covered the 2011 Cricket World Cup and 2010 Hockey World Cup as a venue reporter. He did plenty of voice-over work too, over there.   After leaving Mobile ESPN, Prateek went on to work for Cricketnext, Gocricket and Cricbuzz. At Gocricket (Times Internet Limited), he covered the 2014 T20 World from Bangladesh. There he also received a team leadership award, given at the end of the month.   Prateek has also covered the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, this time working for Sportz Interactive. He also worked for Chinese giants Alibaba over two years and led their ""Short News"" content team at UC Browser.   While cricket is Prateek’s expertise, he has also done a lot of golf. In fact, he has covered India’s first two European Tour events back in the late noughties. He has also done extensive writing on football having been associated with the Indian Super League for three seasons. Finally, Prateek is a literature aficionado and swears by Philip Roth and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and when he doesn’t joke, he is usually quiet and at work.Read More

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