Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the ‘Player of the Match’ for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 Eliminator after smashing 97 in 29 balls against Rajasthan Royals.
Published: May 28, 2026, 3:03 PM IST
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Rajasthan Royals beat Sunrisers Hyderabad by 47 runs in IPL 2026 Eliminator on Wednesday. (Photo: IANS)
SRH vs RR IPL 2026 Eliminator: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been the breakthrough performer for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL 2026 season. At just 15 years of age, Sooryavanshi is the leading run-scorer in the entire T20 league with 680 runs in 15 matches at a strike-rate of over 242. The RR opener has also broken the record for most sixes hit by a batter in a single IPL season – 65 so far with at least one game remaining.
He has completely overshadowed his much experienced opening partner Yashasvi Jaiswal, who has only managed to score 426 runs in 15 matches with 3 fifties and a strike-rate of 153.23. Jaiswal is a permanent fixture in Team India Test squad with an average of 49.23 while scoring 2511 runs in 28 Tests with 7 centuries and 13 fifties. He was retained for Rs 18 crore by the Royals ahead of IPL 2026 season.
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But shockingly former India and Chennai Super Kings star batter Ambati Rayudu has suggested that Jaiswal should consider leaving Royals before IPL 2027 rather than being overshadowed by Sooryavanshi. In the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad on Wednesday, while Sooryavanshi smashed 97 in 29 balls, Jaiswal only managed to score 29 in 29 balls.
“He needs to change his team. Because he cannot just bat with the guy and be overshadowed every single time. He’s a star in his own right. If he goes to another team, he will win matches on his own. He needs that space and that platform. Because this guy will keep overshadowing people, it has to be a senior partner alongside him who can deal with it and be happy for him. Be happy for what is happening and not compete with the non-striker,” Rayudu was quoted as saying on ESPNCricinfo website.
Jaiswal has scored 2592 runs in 82 matches in his IPL career before the IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 match against Gujarat Titans on Friday. He has a strike-rate of 152.92 with 2 hundreds and 18 fifties to his name.
According to Rayudu, who had also represented Mumbai Indians in his IPL career, Jaiswal should look to move to Nita Ambani’s Mumbai Indians team in IPL 2027. Rayudu felt that Jaiswal, who also plays for Mumbai in first-class cricket, could be ideal replacement for Rohit Sharma – who will not be playing in IPL for a long time now.
“Mumbai Indians is a good team for Jaiswal,” Rayudu said.
For now, ‘JaiSoorya’ combination of Jaiswal and Sooryavanshi are doing wonders for Rajasthan Royals as they hope to win the IPL title for the second time after 18 years.
