IPL 2026 | 'This season, the goal is to win the trophy for the team...': Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Pic: File Pic)

The IPL 2026 is set to witness another highly volatile match between the Rajasthan Royals (RR) and the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Monday at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati.

Ahead of the match, RR's rising star Vaibhav Sooryavanshi spoke about his goals for the team. He said that in the previous season, he wanted to deliver a good start and play long innings.

"When I was picked, my only goal was to give the team a good start. I wanted to play my game in the Powerplay, and if I got a good start, I wanted to continue and play long without giving my wicket away," he told JioStar.

For IPL 2026, the left-handed batsman said that he is aiming to clinch the title for the Rajasthan-based franchise.

"I knew that if I played my shots, the scenario of the game would change, because chasing 200-plus runs would not be easy for any team. This season, the goal is to win the trophy for the team. My performances and the team's performances will automatically get highlighted if we win the trophy, and that is the most important thing," said Sooryavanshi.

The 15-year-old cricketer then revealed his two icons that he admired most while growing up.

"I saw both, Brian Lara and Yuvraj Singh, finish matches single-handedly. If they were in, there was no chance for the opponent to come back into the game, and that was something I really liked about them. I made a lot of runs in domestic cricket for Bihar, in league games and probables," he said.

IPL 2026, Chennai Super Kings vs Rajasthan Royals: Full Squads

Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad (C), MS Dhoni (WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Dewald Brevis, Ayush Mhatre, Kartik Sharma, Sarfaraz Khan, Urvil Patel, Anshul Kamboj, Jamie Overton, Ramakrishna Ghosh, Prashant Veer, Matthew Short, Aman Khan, Zak Foulkes, Shivam Dube, Khaleel Ahmed, Noor Ahmad, Mukesh Choudhary, Nathan Ellis, Shreyas Gopal, Gurjapneet Singh, Akeal Hosein, Matt Henry, Rahul Chahar.

Rajasthan Royals: Ravindra Jadeja, Sandeep Sharma, Adam Milne, Donovan Ferreira (WK), Jofra Archer, Shimron Hetmyer, Tushar Deshpande, Sam Curran, Nandre Burger, Riyan Parag (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Kuldeep Sen, Ravi Bishnoi, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sushant Mishra, Yudhvir Singh, Shubham Dubey, Vignesh Puthur, Aman Rao, Kwena Maphaka, Yash Punja, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Ravi Singh (WK), Brijesh Sharma.

(With PTI Inputs)