Vaibhav Sooryavanhsi heads into the new IPL season in a very different place from where he stood a year ago. Then, he was the fearless teenager breaking into the Rajasthan Royals setup and catching attacks off guard. Now, he walks in as a batter every opponent has seen, studied and started planning for. That shift in context is what gives Robin Uthappa’s latest assessment of the young batter its bite. Vaibhav’s breakout season was impossible to ignore. 252 runs in seven IPL 2025 matches at a strike rate of 206.55, with a 35-ball hundred against the Gujarat Tutans that instantly turned him from prospect into headline material.
Robin Uthappa, speaking on Star Sports, put the situation bluntly. “I have been keenly observing every game Vaibhav is playing over the last 12 months. He is phenomenal. But if you are going to watch him bat, I feel he is riding his luck a little bit. The novelty has worn off. I think that right bow, he is riding that luck a little bit, which is fine. I think this season will be educational for him and will serve him in the long run. He will still score runs, but I don’t think he will be all that he was last year,” said Uthappa.
Why Uthappa’s warning matters
The significance of what Uthappa has said lies in the timing. Vaibhav is with the Rajasthan Royals for IPL 2026, and the squad composition keeps him firmly in contention as an opener alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal. He is not entering this season as a batter with real expectations attached to him.
That is why Uthappa’s line about novelty wearing off is the heart of the statement. He is not questioning Vaibhav’s talent. He is questioning how the next phase usually works in elite cricket. Once bowlers know the zones to attack, once analysts have built patterns around a player, and once surprise is gone, a young batter has to show he can evolve.
So this is less a dismissal of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s talent by Robin Uthappa than a warning wrapped inside praise. He may still score heavily this season. But IPL 2026 could tell a bigger story than his breakout year did – not how destructive he can be when no one is ready for him, but how strong he is once everyone is.
