When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi takes the field against the Gujarat Titans in an Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Saturday at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, his mind will instantly go back to what happened last year. It was against this team that the 15-year-old announced his arrival on the big stage, slamming a 35-ball century to register the fastest century by an Indian in the history of the tournament. The left-handed batter has begun the IPL 2026 season on a high, scoring a half-century in the Rajasthan Royals' first game against the Chennai Super Kings.
Ahead of the fixture against Gujarat, Sooryavanshi was seen up and about during the training session on Friday, a day before the fixture. He was seen interacting with the likes of Jos Buttler and Prasidh Krishna. However, it was his interaction with Gujarat Titans head coach Ashish Nehra that sparked the biggest talking point.
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Once Sooryavanshi and Nehra spotted each other on the ground, the duo ran towards each other. The former didn't forget to show respect to the former Indian pacer, rushing forward to touch his feet.
Nehra, however, seemed overawed with the moment, and he quickly lifted Sooryavanshi up to give him a big hug. Seeing the senior statesman's attitude, the 15-year-old couldn't help but smile.
{{/usCountry}}Nehra, however, seemed overawed with the moment, and he quickly lifted Sooryavanshi up to give him a big hug. Seeing the senior statesman's attitude, the 15-year-old couldn't help but smile.
{{/usCountry}}Not just his interaction with Nehra, Sooryavanshi also grabbed attention for his behaviour during the chat between Yashasvi Jaiswal and Prasidh Krishna. The youngster was seen eavesdropping as the two Indian stars spoke during the practice session.
Sooryavanshi goes from strength to strength
Ever since making his IPL debut last year, Sooryavanshi has gone from strength to strength. After exploits in the T20 tournament, the left-hander smashed runs for fun in the Youth ODIs against England, Australia and South Africa. He then played a swashbuckling 175-run knock off just 80 balls in the U19 World Cup final against England, helping India win yet another tournament.
Everyone predicted a tough road ahead for Sooryavanshi in the IPL 2026 season, citing the second-season blues. However, the youngster from Bihar showed all that he's here to stay as he smashed the CSK bowlers all around the park in Guwahati, smashing a fifty off just 15 balls.
“The coaches didn’t specifically say that bowlers would attack me - everyone else was already saying that - but they just told me that they back me and that I should stick to my natural game and play according to the situation,” Vaibhav said after playing a match-winning 17-ball 52-run knock against the CSK.