The stories of his dramatic rise have been told and retold so many times that they are taking on a life of their own. The statistics have been diced and sliced, the biomechanics analysed like never before, and the list of records broken is being updated every week. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not the flavour of the day, week or month, he has been the engine room of interest in IPL 2026.

As with everything else in the life of a 15-year-old, he’s on the cusp of yet another first: an Eliminator in the IPL. In 2025, while Sooryavanshi sounded his warning, the Rajasthan Royals had a damp squib of a season, finishing ninth. This year, they went from early favourites to make it to the final four to teetering at the brink before squeezing in.