Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is indeed the new face of the IPL. And not just because of the records he has shattered or the bowling attacks he has demolished. It is the effect he has had on Indian cricket itself.
If the league once belonged to MS Dhoni’s iconic 07, Virat Kohli’s 18 or Rohit Sharma’s 45, then Sooryavanshi’s 03 has now entered that rare royalty.
The mayhem the 15-year-old has unleashed in IPL 2026 with his outrageous run-scoring and six-hitting has sparked a craze never seen before inside the Rajasthan Royals camp.
According to a report in *The Indian Express*, the franchise has witnessed an unprecedented surge in requests for Sooryavanshi’s merchandise, unlike anything Rajasthan have experienced since the IPL began.
“His jersey is in huge demand. Everyone has been asking only for his jersey. It’s the most-sold jersey too. We have never seen such demand,” a Rajasthan Royals source told the newspaper.
The development came barely a day after Sooryavanshi once again tore apart the Sunrisers Hyderabad bowling attack, smashing a breathtaking 28-ball 97 in the Eliminator at New Chandigarh to guide Rajasthan into Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans.
Against an attack led by Pat Cummins, Sooryavanshi unleashed another storm of sixes and boundaries, rendering every bowling plan ineffective.
His 12 sixes during the innings took his tally to 65 maximums this season, helping him break Chris Gayle’s long-standing IPL record for the most sixes in a single edition.
Sooryavanshi also came within touching distance of another Gayle record — the fastest IPL century — before falling agonisingly short by a single delivery. Dismissed for 97, he missed what would have been his second IPL hundred this season and his first outside Jaipur.
“I got to know after the game,” he said at the post-match presentation after collecting the Player of the Match award.
“My focus was on hitting a six. I will score centuries in future, but the focus was on getting maximum runs for the team. I just work on my plans and, if there are shortcomings, I try to improve them.”
