Former Indian skipper Kris Srikkanth has heaped praise on Vaibhav Suryavanshi after Rajasthan Royals claimed a comprehensive 47-run win against Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator of the ongoing IPL 2026 at New Chandigarh on Wednesday.
The youngster scored a stunning knock of 97 runs off just 29 balls with the help of five fours and a dozen sixes.
The left-hander scored his runs at a whirlwind strike rate of 334.48 as he took SRH bowlers to the cleaners. Vaibhav also broke Chris Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) in an IPL season and now has 65 maximums to his name.
Furthermore, Suryavanshi was just one hit away from breaking Chris Gayle’s record of the fastest century in the IPL but he was dismissed three runs short of his hundred.
Srikkanth said it is impossible for someone to beat what this kid is doing at the top level.
Kris Srikkanth said on his YouTube Channel, “Now it’s about what name can be given to him on the lines of Universe Boss or God of cricket. The whole world is praising him. What Gayle did in his career, this kid is beating in his second season. It’ll be impossible for someone to beat what this kid is doing. He is not just slogging but playing very intelligent cricket.”
Srikkanth recalled that former Indian captain Kapil Dev and legendary West Indies batter Sir Viv Richards didn’t destroy opposition attack like this.
“He hasn’t failed in consecutive innings this entire season and has scored in 11 out of the 15 innings. He is having the Orange Cap in his first full season itself. I’ve seen many players destroy attacks like Viv Richards and Kapil Dev. But I’ve never seen someone as explosive as him. Even Viv Richards and Kapil Dev didn’t consistently destroy attacks like this.”
The former national selector said IPL 2026 will be remembered for Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s pyrotechnics.
“Just like everyone’s recall about the 2016 IPL is Virat Kohli’s 970+ runs, this season, everyone’s top-of-the-mind recall will be Vaibhav Suryavanshi. This is Suryavanshi’s IPL, and it’s been all about him. And he does it so quietly without dishing out words,” said Srikkanth (via the aforementioned source).
RR will face GT in the second qualifier on Friday.
