Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the 'Pele' of cricket? The 15-year-old sensation defying logic and battering reputations in stunning IPL season

· Yahoo Sports

Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi the 'Pele' of cricket? The 15-year-old sensation defying logic and battering reputations in stunning IPL season originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has absolutely taken the IPL by storm this season.
  • The 15-year-old has been Rajasthan Royals' single most important match-winner with the bat, doing so to devastating fashion on Wednesday vs SRH.
  • It wouldn't be amiss for the teen sensation to be compared to one of the greatest names in football - Pele.

Inside Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's ground-breaking IPL 2026 season

If anybody thought Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was brought into the IPL as a 14-year-old in the 2025 edition by RR, would be found out in his 'proverbial' second season, how wrong were they?

Visit turconews.click for more information.

Sooryavanshi showed glimpses of what he could in 2025, scoring 252 runs (at a strike rate of 206.56) in seven games which also included a stunning century. 

However, if anybody thought the 15-year-old would be found out against the experienced internationals in the 2026 season were left stunned at what transpired. 

Sooryavanshi has scored 680 runs so far this season, at a whopping strike rate of 243.73, including a stunning ton and multiple knocks where he threatened and extinguished multiple records. And he pumped 65 sixes in the campaign which is an all-time record, surpassing Chris Gayle. All this at a tender age of just 15. 

What Sooryavanshi is doing would be incredulous for even an established player in the circuit. But for a 15-year-old, it is truly mind-boggling and logic defying. 

MORE: What are the highest run-chases in IPL knockouts?

Is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi cricket's Pele?

And it's the enormity of his feats at such a young age that might evoke comparisons to Pele - one of the greatest footballers ever to have played the game. 

Pele's rise to the top of football started at a very young age like Sooryavanshi. He was just 15 when he started playing for the Santos first team in the Brazilian league. He made his debut for the famed Brazil team (which had its fair share of greats already) at just 16. 

And he would go on to take the footballing world by storm in the 1958 FIFA World Cup in Sweden, just like how Sooryavanshi has done this IPL. 

Pele was the youngest player to feature at a World Cup at the time. Even though many considered him too young to play a game, he was trusted by his coach and became the youngest goalscorer at a World Cup in the quarter-finals against Wales. 

He would go on to score a hat-trick in the semi-finals and added two more in the final against Sweden to help Brazil win the World Cup. In the process, he scored six goals and became the youngest to win a World Cup. His goals were so extraordinary that all major European clubs tried to sign him up post that World Cup, only for Santos fans to revolt which eventually meant he stayed in Brazil. 

And in the process, Pele became one of the most famous sportspersons in the world and was a name that would evoke excitement and fanatic following among fans all over the world. 

The game of cricket might not have had such a youngster capturing the imagination of fans across the world so far since the advent of Sachin Tendulkar who made his India debut at 16. 

Sooryavanshi currently is doing that. We're seeing fans across generations bookmarking RR matches just to watch a 15-year-old thrash established and older bowlers all over the park. We already have pundits raving about the young sensation and wondering why he's not played for India yet. 

He's got fans from abroad tuning in to the IPL to see how he bats, wondering what the hype is all about. And on Wednesday, with a knock that saw him score 97 off 29 balls (including 12 sixes), Sooryavanshi showed everyone the hype was real.

Having already played key knocks that propelled RR to the IPL 2026 playoffs, Sooryavanshi has now powered his side to the Qualifier 2 - a virtual semi-final. Despite what might transpire in the Qualifier 2, we really might be watching cricket's Pele taking his first major flight right now.

MORE:Vaibhav Sooryavanshi left heartbroken after missing fastest IPL 100

Battering reputations, defying logic: The Vaibhav Sooryavanshi effect

Of course, the batter-friendly pitches and smaller boundaries in the IPL have helped teams rack up huge totals and score sixes freely. But Sooryavanshi is just 15 years old! Let that sink in. 

He is defying logic by outscoring and outhitting some of the best batsmen in the world. Pretty much like what Pele did in 1958. The 17-year-old Brazilian had no regard for reputations and embarassed some of the best defenders and goalkeepers in the game, especially during his first goal in the final where he flicked a ball over the defender's head before volleying it in. 

And Sooryavanshi is done something similar this season in the IPL. When he faced the great Jasprit Bumrah for the first time ever, many wondered how the youngster would fare against arguably the best bowler in the world currently. While Sooryavanshi defended the first ball from Bumrah, he went on to tonk the next ball over the midwicket boundary. He would go on to launch another six, showing he cared none for reputation. 

Australia's World Cup-winning captain Pat Cummins found that out on Wednesday the hard way too, when Sooryavanshi took him down in a stunning assault. That has been the case against most international bowlers in this IPL.

He might be a baby-faced-assassin, but Sooryavanshi has got the bat swing of a seasoned killer which allows him to pick up deliveries and deposit them over the ropes with such devastating ability. So much so that even Sachin Tendulkar couldn't help but appreciate the same. 

MORE:Biggest wins in IPL Playoff history

Pressure? What pressure? Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's aces the big-match test

While Sooryavanshi has been nothing short of a revelation this season, hitting at a magnitude which not many players can match, there would have been questions of his ability to perform in a crunch game like Wednesday's IPL 2026 Eliminator between RR and SRH at New Chandigarh stadium. 

And right from the outset, Sooryavanshi put those doubts to rest with an innings full of carnage of a scale that is rarely seen in the IPL. In fact, he would have comfortably beaten Chris Gayle's record of the fastest 100 in the IPL if he hadn't holed out at 97. 

And its not the first time he has performed in a big game. Sooryavanshi was part of the India team that won the 2026 ICC U19 World Cup in February. In the final, against a strong England team, Sooryavanshi scored a 80-ball 175, laced with 15 sixes, which powered India to 411/9 in 50 overs. India ended up winning the game by 100 runs. 

Clearly, the kid doesn't care about pressure games. Exactly like what Pele did as a 17-year-old in 1958, Sooryavanshi is doing it in IPL 2026, making the world sit up and take note fervently!

MORE: Holder's fiery celebration in front of Kohli after dismissing him again in IPL 2026

The Cricket News Opinion: Long way to go but Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is special!

We're pretty sure comparisons with a legend like Pele might raise from eyebrows among the sceptics. But the signs are definitely there. And judging by what he has done against older and more established players, there is every chance he might end up in the same bracket as Pele. 

For it's not normal for a 15-year-old to capture the attention and discourse of the entire cricketing world, just like how Pele captured the footballing world's attention back in 1958.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is definitely special. How far he'll go is yet to be seen but he is perhaps the most exciting talent the game has seen in a long, long time.

To keep up to date with all the latest cricket news and share your opinion on the biggest topics visit our Facebook, Instagram and X (Twitter) pages.

Read full story at source