Vaibhav Sooryavanshi "Might Just Leave For Mumbai Indians"? England Great Throws 'Player Retention' Possibility
When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was picked by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2025 auction for Rs 1.1 crore, many said it was a wild bet
- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has scored 400 runs in nine IPL 2026 innings
- Stuart Broad wondered if Sooryavanshi might enter the next player retention auction
- "It's not as if you can sign him on a 10-year contract; he might just leave for the Mumbai Indians," he said
When Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was picked by Rajasthan Royals at the IPL 2025 auction for Rs 1.1 crore, many said it was a wild bet. RR's Director of Cricket, Zubin Bharucha, however, recently revealed that he had told the franchise to keep up to Rs 10 crore aside just for Sooryavanshi. Bharucha added that his first impression of the youngster had left him in awe. The 15-year-old has repaid that faith this season. His scores so far in IPL 2026 are 52, 31, 39, 78, 0, 46, 8, 103 and 43. He currently sits atop the run-getters' list with 400 runs in nine innings at an average of 44.44 and a strike rate of 238.09. He is the first player in IPL 2026 to reach the 400-run mark.
Stuart Broad, the former England fast bowler, presented an interesting perspective while lauding Rajasthan Royals' scouting system.
"Fair play to Rajasthan Royals' scouting system or academy system-whatever they have done. I remember when they signed him at the auction - he was 14, maybe even 13 - and I thought it was a bit odd for top-flight domestic cricket to bring in someone so young. That's a lot of pressure, just having him around the squad for three years. What's the point of that? It's not as if you can sign him on a 10-year contract; he might just leave for the Mumbai Indians or something if given an opportunity," Broad told former England teammate Jos Buttler on the For the Love of Cricket podcast.
"I mean, to be fair, when he walks into his next player retention, he can go into the auction, if he wants, 'you have to give me some sort of numbers.'"
Former RR batter Buttler, who is currently playing for Gujarat Titans, was full of praise for Sooryavanshi, particularly for hitting bowlers like Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins for first-ball sixes.
"He is only 15, and he is playing with the fearlessness of peak Chris Gayle or Virender Sehwag-except those guys were 30 or 35 when they were doing it. He is just consistently whacking bowlers around the park. It's outrageous. That's the kind of player he is. When Rajasthan are playing, I feel like I need to switch on the TV just to watch him bat. He is that exciting. He got out first ball against Sunrisers in the previous game-popped one up, the risk that comes with playing that fearless brand of cricket-and then comes back next time and peels off a hundred against them," Buttler said.
Rajasthan Royals
Mumbai Indians