Former England skipper Sir Alastair Cook has pointed out one unusual aspect in Vaibhav Suryavanshi’s batting after IPL 2026. The former England opener said there is no premeditation in Suryavanshi’s batting and he reacts to the ball and plays accordingly to the field.
Suryavanshi has a beautiful bat swing and has delivered consistently at the top level. The prodigy batter ended the IPL 2026 season with 776 runs in 16 matches at an average of 48.50 and a blistering strike rate of 237.30. He ended as the leading run-getter in the tournament and thus bagged the Orange Cap. Along with it, he was awarded the MVP of the tournament, Super Striker of the Season, Emerging Player of the season, and also bagged the award for the most sixes (72) in the season.
“I think the one thing about it is – there doesn’t seem to be any premeditation,” Cook said in a podcast, Stick to Cricket.
“Most batsmen, even the best hitters, are literally waiting for that ball to be in their one slot for six. They might have two slots. But with him, you bowl five balls, and he’ll wait for a ball at 99 miles per hour, then react to it and still hit it for six. So cleanly. I think that’s what’s unusual.”
On the other hand, former England captain Michael Vaughan also hailed Suryavanshi’s pyrotechnics and also recalled the chat he had with the youngster during the IPL.
“I was in the pool last week in Mumbai. Rajasthan playing Mumbai – a must-win game to go through to the playoffs. Yashasvi Jaiswal comes and has a chat, and then the kid (Sooryavanshi) arrives and I start off: ‘It’s a pleasure to meet you. Full admiration for the way you play. How do you prepare for the matches?’ He went: ‘Watching cartoons.’ I was like… alright. I said, ‘Are you training?’ He went, ‘No.’ I said, ‘What do you eat?’ He went, ‘Everything.’ I said – there’s the modern player. Watch a cartoon, eat what you want, smack it out of the ground,” he said.
It would be interesting to note if the selectors would pick Vaibhav Suryavanshi in India’s T20I team.
