Impossible for someone to beat what this kid is doing

Former Team India captain Kris Srikkanth hailed Rajasthan Royals (RR) opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi for his heroics in the side’s win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL 2026 Eliminator in New Chandigarh on May 27. Playing his first IPL playoff game, the 15-year-old stunned the SRH bowlers with a stroke-filled 97 off 29 deliveries.

His knock included an IPL playoff record 12 maximums and five boundaries, helping RR amass 243 in their 20 overs. They eventually completed a 47-run win to keep their title hopes alive.

Talking about Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s extraordinary knock, Srikkanth said on his YouTube channel (2:35):

“Now it’s about what name can be given to him on the lines of Universe Boss or God of cricket. The whole world is praising him. What Gayle did in his career, this kid is beating in his second season. It’ll be impossible for someone to beat what this kid is doing. He is not just slogging but playing very intelligent cricket.”

The former opener continued:

“He hasn’t failed in consecutive innings this entire season and has scored in 11 out of the 15 innings. He is having the Orange Cap in his first full season itself. I’ve seen many players destroy attacks like Viv Richards and Kapil Dev. But I’ve never seen someone as explosive as him. Even Viv Richards and Kapil Dev didn’t consistently destroy attacks like this.”

Vaibhav also holds the Orange Cup at the moment, having amassed 680 runs in 15 games at an average of 45.33 and a strike rate of 242.85.

“Everyone’s top-of-the-mind recall will be Vaibhav Suryavanshi” – Kris Srikkanth on the IPL 2026 season

Kris Srikkanth compared Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s incredible IPL 2026 season with the bat to Virat Kohli’s memorable exploits in 2016. The latter set the all-time record for most runs in an IPL season in 2016 with 973, helping Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) finish runners-up.

“Just like everyone’s recall about the 2016 IPL is Virat Kohli’s 970+ runs, this season, everyone’s top-of-the-mind recall will be Vaibhav Suryavanshi. This is Suryavanshi’s IPL, and it’s been all about him. And he does it so quietly without dishing out words,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).

He concluded by predicting another Vaibhav Suryavanshi classic in Qualifier 2, adding:

Whenever a bowler removes him in the previous match, he specifically targets and smashes them. Last time against GT, Siraj will stare him down after dismissing him. I am sure that’s on Suryavanshi’s mind and Siraj might get the worst of Suryavanshi. It was against GT that he scored a century last season.

RR will take on the Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 at New Chandigarh tomorrow (May 29), with the winner advancing to the grand finale.