Sunrisers Hyderabad captain Pat Cummins has picked Rajasthan Royals’ opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi as his new favorite player. Suryavanshi scored a brilliant knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad at the Sawai Man Singh Stadium, Jaipur on Saturday.

The youngster continued his rich form in the ongoing IPL 2026, smashing 103 runs off just 37 balls with the help of five and a dozen sixes against SRH. He scored his runs at a blistering strike rate of 278.38. Thus, he played a key role in helping RR post a par score of 228 runs on the board. 

The 15-year-old had the rub of the green on his side as he was dropped by Aniket Verma when he was on 32.

“I think he’s my new favourite player,” SRH skipper Pat Cummins said of Sooryavanshi. “He hits the ball so hard, it’s great to watch, it’s good fun.

“You’ve got to be right on the money as a bowler, because if you’re not, it’s going a long way. So he’s impressive. Yeah, he’s had a great start to his career and yeah, I love the way he plays, takes the game on.”

Suryavanshi added Pat Cummins to the list of bowlers, whom he has smashed for a first-ball boundary. The left-hander hit a six on the first ball he faced against the Australian.

Cummins also shed light on the debate regarding the large number of runs being scored in the IPL.

“Look, maybe,” Cummins said of whether the tournament needed better bat-ball balance. “I think it’s just the way it is. The wickets might be flat, but it’s only 20 overs, you know, so it’s not a Test match where it’s flat and they’ve had a bat for five days, so I’m okay with that. It’s a maximum of four overs. Yeah, it’s fine. It is what it is.

“We set up our team, obviously, to try and go big on our batting, and as bowlers it’s up to us to try and minimise the runs. The scores look a little bit different to maybe a few years ago, but the concept’s still the same. Yeah, I don’t mind it.”

Sunrisers Hyderabad will next take on the Mumbai Indians at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, on Wednesday.