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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is going through a wonderful campaign for Rajasthan Royals (RR) in the ongoing IPL 2026, delivering impactful performances with the bat to help the team secure crucial victories over rival teams. Although many experts initially doubted on Sooryavanshi's abilities, the 15-year-old opener has silenced critics with consistent performances.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to leave Rajasthan Royals?
Former England pacer Stuart Broad admitted that he also doubted when the Rajasthan-based franchise signed the young opener at the IPL mega auction, believing that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might move to a bigger franchise like Mumbai Indians if he wasn't given opportunities.
"Fair play to Rajasthan Royals’ scouting system or academy system – whatever they have done," said Stuart Broad on his official podcast For The Love Of Cricket on YouTube.
"I remember when they signed him (Sooryavanshi) at the auction – he was 14, maybe even 13 – and I thought ‘gosh bit odd for top-flight domestic cricket (team) to get someone so young in," added Broad.
Broad claimed he believed that RR might have Sooryanshi in the squad for three years and he might leave for a bigger and better franchise like Mumbai Indians in search of more chances.
"I was thinking (that’s) a lot of pressure, maybe they’re just going to have him around the squad for three years. I said what’s the point of that because it’s not as if you can sign him on a 10-year contract; he might just then leave for Mumbai Indians or something," said Broad.
However Broad expressed happiness over RR giving Sooryavanshi a fair number of chances and the 15-year-old batter repaid the faith with crucial knocks against big teams in the competition.
But they’ve given him an opportunity, and he has not let them down," added Broad.
With the growing fame, Broad believes that RR might find it hard to retain Sooryavanshi, if the young prodigy decides to enter the IPL auction for having a bigger amount of money.
“I mean, to be fair, when he next walks into his next player retention, he can say “Well, I can go in the auction if you want but you’re going to give me some sort of number," Broad concluded.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's red-hot form in IPL 2026
The star left-handed opener has created havoc in the ongoing IPL 2026, becoming the fastest player to score 400 runs in a single season, reaching the milestone in just nine innings and 167 deliveries. Currently, he stands at third in the list of highest run-getters with 400 runs in nine games at an average of 44.44 with a monstrous strike rate of 238.09. It will be interesting to see if he can conclude the season on a high note.
Rajasthan Royals' strong hold in IPL 2026
The Riyan Parag-led side is going through a great campaign in IPL 2026, standing at fourth place with 12 points in hand after playing nine matches in the tournament at a net run rate of +0.617.
RR will lock horns against Axar Patel's Delhi Capitals in their upcoming clash on Friday, May 1 at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur.
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