Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the wonder kid with the magic wand to draw spectators to a cricket stadium. Four matches into Rajasthan Royals’ campaign and the opener is already quite a sensation in IPL 2026.

If smashing Jasprit Bumrah for two sixes in his first over gave the 15-year-old an exalted status, his demolition of Josh Hazlewood in their win over RCB in Guwahati on Friday was equally impressive.

The Australian pacer was smashed for three consecutive boundaries and a six in his opening spell. Sooryavanshi’s innings earned praise from Virat Kohli too, who signed his Rajasthan Royals cap with a ‘well done’ message.

“When you watch him, you just can’t understand,” Dhruv Jurel said after the match. “Seriously, you can’t believe your eyes. How can he hit the ball like that? Even I’m batting on the same wicket; why isn’t it happening for me? He’s a great talent.”

Royals captain Riyan Parag said they try to ensure Sooryavanshi stays in good spirits. “Everyone loves him, loves having him around,” Parag said. “He likes eating stuff, going out and stuff like that, so we make sure we make that available for him.

“He’s a 16-year-old kid, 15-year-old, whatever it is. (He likes doing) kiddish things, and he’s happy with that. He likes a lot of batting (at the nets), so we make sure that that is presented to him...”

IPL chair Arun Dhumal has said the youngster deserves to be fast-tracked into the India senior men’s team. “This prodigy certainly deserves to debut for Team India @BCCI as the youngest given his performances” Dhumal wrote on X.