Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named Emerging Player of IPL 2026 tournament
The 15-year-old Bihar-born batsman had an outstanding tournament for the Rajasthan Royals, emerging as the top run-scorer with 776 runs at a phenomenal strike rate of 237.30.
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Sooryavanshi’s consistent performances, including a record-breaking 72 sixes, helped him surpass many long-standing IPL records and establish himself as one of the most promising talents in Indian cricket.
Aged just 15 years and 65 days old, Sooryavanshi also set a new IPL record. Youngest winner of the Orange Cap. The previous record was held by Sudharsan, who won the Gujarat Titans opener in 2025 at 23 years and 231 days; Shubman Gill broke the record with 23 years and 263 days in 2023.
Sooryavanshi narrowly missed Virat Kohli’s tally of four centuries in a season; He was dismissed three times in the nineties – 93 against Lucknow Super Giants along with his century against Sunrisers Hyderabad, 97 against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator and 96 against Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2.
Sooryavanshi also reached the 1,000 IPL runs milestone in record time, surpassing West Indies legend Andre Russell by taking just 440 balls. In terms of strikeouts, he became the second fastest, achieving this with 23 innings, and Shaun Marsh held the record with 21 innings.Also Read: King of the West Virat Kohli’s stunning chase takes RCB to back-to-back IPL crowns
Sooryavanshi said after winning the Season’s Most Valuable Player award: “It feels good but I feel a bit under pressure when I have to give interviews. I don’t drink milk these days. How to play every match, you can’t play every match the same way. If I have to stay injury-free, I need to work on my fitness. Everyone is very supportive. All the senior players, the support staff, everyone is supporting me and it’s a good atmosphere.” said Sooryavanshi after winning the Season’s Most Valuable Player award.
Coming into the IPL 2026 final, where RCB batted first, GT scored just 155/8 in 20 overs, while Washington Sundar (50* in 37 balls, five fours) and Nishant Sindhu (20 in 18 balls, three fours) were the only ones to cross the 20-run mark. Rasikh Dar Salam (3/27), Bhuvneshwar Kumar (2/29) and Josh Hazlewood (2/37) took wickets regularly.
RCB started well with a 62-run stand between Venkatesh Iyer (32 from 16 balls, four boundaries and two sixes) and Virat Kohli. GT showed some fight and at one point reduced RCB to 132/5, but Virat (75* from 42 balls, nine fours and three sixes) guided RCB to victory with two overs remaining.
This is RCB’s second IPL title and fourth Indian franchise cricket trophy overall, including two Women’s Premier League (WPL) titles.
