Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: Jos Buttler Backs Young Star to Break Chris Gayle’s IPL Record

A Star Emerges: The Phenomenon of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

The landscape of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is often defined by the arrival of generational talents, but rarely has a player sparked as much conversation as 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Currently dominating the headlines and the Orange Cap leaderboard in the 2026 season, the Rajasthan Royals prodigy has left seasoned international cricketers in absolute awe of his batting prowess.

In a recent episode of the ‘For the Love of Cricket’ podcast, England’s white-ball maestro Jos Buttler and former fast-bowling legend Stuart Broad deep-dived into the statistics and the sheer audacity of Sooryavanshi’s stroke play. The numbers are not just impressive; they are record-breaking.

Chasing the Universe Boss

The conversation inevitably turned to the record for the most sixes in a single IPL season, a throne currently occupied by the legendary Chris Gayle. With 53 sixes already to his name in the current campaign, Sooryavanshi stands on the precipice of history, requiring only a few more hits to surpass Gayle’s iconic tally of 59.

Buttler, who has been closely monitoring the youngster’s progress, believes the record is inevitable. “Chris Gayle—the best T20 player to ever play the game, I think, especially in terms of six-hitting—is the record holder with 59,” Buttler noted. “If Rajasthan gets through to the playoffs, then Vaibhav will definitely go past that record. Which again, it’s just another one of these mind-boggling things that he’s doing at 15 years of age.”

The Science Behind the Destruction

What makes Sooryavanshi’s rise particularly fascinating is the clinical nature of his aggression. During the powerplay, the young batter maintains a boundary frequency that borders on the impossible. Buttler highlighted that Sooryavanshi hits a boundary—either a four or a six—every two balls during the opening overs, a statistic that underlines his dominance.

Stuart Broad, analyzing the impact from a bowler’s perspective, expressed his disbelief at the young man’s consistency. “He’s striking at nearly 240 this season,” Broad remarked. “It effectively means 236 runs for every hundred balls he faces.” The duo laughed about the futility of bowling plans against a player who seems to adapt faster than the opposition can adjust.

One Step Ahead of the Opposition

The constant evolution of Sooryavanshi’s game has been the hallmark of his success this season. Whenever opposing teams believe they have devised a strategy—such as the classic ‘bouncer and yorker’ combination—Sooryavanshi finds a way to negate the threat. His ability to start fast and maintain that momentum has provided Rajasthan Royals with consistent, high-impact platforms.

“Every time he gets going, it’s like, ‘He’s off again—43 off 17,'” Broad observed. Buttler echoed this sentiment with a definitive assessment of the youngster’s mindset: “He’s one step ahead of everyone.”

A Legacy in the Making

While the cricketing world is prone to hype, the numbers provided by Sooryavanshi in the 2026 IPL season are concrete proof of his talent. For a 15-year-old to be mentioned in the same breath as Chris Gayle regarding power-hitting records is a testament to his maturity and skill. As the tournament progresses toward the playoffs, all eyes will be on the Rajasthan Royals opener to see if he can successfully claim the mantle of the most prolific six-hitter in a single IPL edition.

If his current trajectory is any indication, Sooryavanshi is not just a bright prospect for the future; he is a current force of nature that has firmly established himself as a cornerstone of the Rajasthan Royals’ title ambitions.