What's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's 'Weakness'? West Indies Great Gives Clear Verdict
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a leading Orange Cap contender, having scored 400 runs in nine matches, including a century.
Teenager Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to impress fans and experts alike with his fearless and aggressive batting approach in the ongoing IPL 2026. The 15-year-old has been a driving force behind Rajasthan Royals winning six of their nine matches so far this season. Sooryavanshi is a leading Orange Cap contender, having scored 400 runs in nine matches, including a century. Former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop, an ESPNcricinfo expert for TATA IPL 2026, was asked how bowlers should plan to curb Sooryavanshi's onslaught.
Bishop admitted that while some bowlers have managed to outfox him with back-of-a-length deliveries, the same plan has backfired more often than not.
"Technically, he is unique with his bat swing, baseball sort of swing. Very hard to say exactly what his weakness is. Back of a length delivery has worked against him, but if you don't get a top edge early, the same goes out of the park. I don't know if there's one plan I can put my finger on yet," said Bishop ahead of IPL 2026 Revenge Week.
Sooryavanshi was the first player to cross the landmark of 400 runs this season, before Sunrisers Hyderabad's duo of Abhishek Sharma (425) and Heinrich Klaasen (414) overtook him in the Orange Cap list.
Meanwhile, Sooryavanshi recently responded to the viral "AI chip" claims surrounding his bat, delivering a humorous and composed reply that quickly grabbed attention. The young batter joked that whatever power he has comes straight from above, adding that if anything is installed, it's by God and he's simply using it.
"God has given it to me. He himself said something is installed in my bat. I am using that," Vaibhav said in a video released by Rajasthan Royals on X.
Sooryavanshi has dominated star bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Jasprit Bumrah - a feat that left both fans and experts spellbound.
Rajasthan Royals