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Cricket PlayersShubman Gill can't keep calm, goes gaga over Vaibhav Sooryavanshi ahead of IPL final: ‘In years to come…’
Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill was full of praise for the Rajasthan Royals opening batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.
Shubman Gill, the Gujarat Titans captain, has had the front-row seat to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's blitz in the Indian Premier League (IPL) on multiple occasions. Not to forget, it was Gujarat against whom the 15-year-old announced himself, hitting a 35-ball century in the 2025 edition of the tournament. Gill once again ran into the left-handed batter as Sooryavanshi displayed his class in the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2, hitting 96 runs with eight boundaries and seven sixes. However, Gill stepped up with the bat himself, hitting 104 runs and upstaging Sooryavanshi to help the Gujarat Titans set up the IPL final against the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
Sooryavanshi finished the IPL 2026 season with 776 runs to his name in 16 matches at an average of more than 48 and a strike rate of more than 200. The youngster broke multiple records, becoming the youngest to score 1000 runs in the IPL. He also surpassed Chris Gayle to hit the most sixes in a single edition of the T20 tournament.
Ahead of the IPL 2026 final between Gujarat and RCB, Gill was asked about Sooryavanshi, and it was then that the India Test and ODI captain labelled the Royals opener as “one of the best batters in the T20 format.”
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“I think it’s just a remarkable season for him. I have not seen anyone bat like this. At this moment, he’s one of the best batters in the world. It’s remarkable to see him, not just the hitting, but his batting mechanics and his hand speed, no matter what opposition he plays against,” Gill told reporters at the pre-match press conference ahead of the IPL final.
“The way he didn’t care after the flyer, but still managed to come back into the game and kept putting us under pressure, that just tells you about the mindset. I think in years to come, the opposition that plays against him will have a tough time,” he added.
Parag praises Sooryavanshi
The Rajasthan Royals captain Riyan Parag was also full of praise for Sooryavanshi after crashing out of the tournament. The right-handed batter said that it was great to see how the youngster grew heaps and bounds in his second season.
“I can't really put it in words. There's one way where you just go and slog and then you get a lot of runs. But the way he's batted, it's not just slogging. It's not blind slogging. You can't do what you just did today if you were just going from ball one. He calculates, he assesses conditions,” said Parag.
“He does literally everything well. I still can't figure out how. But hopefully he keeps doing that. Hopefully he represents our country and brings more laurels to the country. And hopefully he keeps on playing for Rajasthan Royals and gets us to that second championship,” he added.
