When he gets out in the 40s, you find RR in trouble

Former India keeper-batter Saba Karim reckons that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is carrying Rajasthan Royals’ (RR) batting in IPL 2026. According to Karim, RR’s batting struggles even when Sooryavanshi is dismissed in the 40s or 50s.

Sooryavanshi starred with a stunning 93 off 38 balls as RR beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) by seven wickets in match number 64 of IPL 2026 at Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur on Tuesday, May 19. Chasing a target of 221, RR got over the line in 19.1 overs.

During a discussion on ESPNcricinfo Timeout, Karim agreed to the observation that RR are heavily dependent on Sooryavanshi in the batting department. Sharing his thoughts on the kind of impact the 15-year-old is having on RR’s fortunes, the former India keeper-batter stated:

“When he gets out in the 40s and 50s, even then you find RR in trouble. So, it is not only the way he scores runs, but the amount of runs he scores. Anything beyond 80-90 puts Rajasthan in a very healthy state. All the occasions where he has scored 40 or 50, the other batters have struggled. Responsibility rests quite lightly on his shoulders.”

Former India batter Ambati Rayudu echoed Karim’s sentiments and added:

“Yes, I think so, in chases, especially. When you want to set up a big total or chase a total like this, he’s been the key. Without him, their batting order really struggles.”

In 13 innings in IPL 2026, Sooryavanshi has slammed 579 runs at an average of 44.53 and a strike rate of 236.32, with one hundred and three half-centuries.

“What more is he capable of?” – Karim in awe of RR opener’s talent

Hailing Sooryavanshi, Karim added that he seems to be batting at a different level. The former India stumper also asserted that there might be bigger things in store for the RR star. He said:

“If you watched the others bat, all of them batted at a strike rate of 130-140. Even Dhruv Jurel batted quite well. And there you seen Sooryavanshi notching up 93 at a strike rate of 240-odd. Where is it heading? What more is he capable of?”

Rayudu added that Sooryavanshi seems to taking the pitch out of the equation completely. He concluded:

“It looks like he is playing against a different opposition altogether. Quite extraordinary.”

Sooryavanshi struck seven fours and 10 sixes in his knock against LSG before being dismissed by Mohsin Khan.