Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: 14 matches, 583 runs. Yashasvi Jaiswal: 14 matches, 397 runs. These are the numbers of the two Rajasthan Royals openers in the 2026 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL). Being the senior pro and a regular in the Indian Test side, Jaiswal was expected to outperform, if not outscore, his partner. However, the narrative has been completely different. Sooryavanshi has not only lived up to the hype; he has surpassed it. The 15-year-old has outshone any other opener in the IPL, let alone his RR partner, and this, as Ravichandran Ashwin points out, has rocked Jaiswal.
“The former India spinner feels slightly let down by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s returns. His run tally is lower than in each of the previous four IPL seasons and, even though Rajasthan Royals still have at least one more game left this season – against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Wednesday’s Eliminator – Jaiswal has plenty of catching up to do.
And Ashwin believes Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rise may have played a role in it.
“It is slightly underwhelming, and I am a bit surprised by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in the Rajasthan Royals team. I am a little surprised because I expected a lot from him; I have high hopes. But I just have a slight inkling of a feeling that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s display has perhaps shaken Jaiswal a bit. It has rattled him,” Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.
The Sehwag-Chopra parallel
The Jaiswal-Sooryavanshi situation reminds Ashwin of the early 2000s when Team India debuted the opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra in Tests. Chopra made 10 Test appearances for India, playing his first match against New Zealand in 2003. However, when India toured Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Chopra’s approach of holding the crease at one end went almost unnoticeable as Sehwag took the bowlers on. Ashwin can’t help but notice the similarity in the pattern.
“If you remember the opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra in Test matches, Aakash Chopra used to play really well, giving good starts of 30 or 40 runs. But the sheer style and manner in which Virender Sehwag batted used to make Aakash Chopra look almost invisible. Not that he was; Aakash Chopra did a great job on that Australian tour too. But I just have a feeling that because of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fierce batting here, it has thrown Jaiswal off a little. In many games, Jaiswal got out trying to hit the ball too hard,” added Ashwin.
“I want to see Yashasvi Jaiswal bat well because he has the ability. But this time, Rajasthan Royals’ story has been about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and on the day Jofra Archer was needed, he also stepped up. But all that said, Mumbai Indians have been very, very, very, very underwhelming this season. This score was chaseable.”
