The Vaibhav Sooryavanshi phenomenon has now crossed borders and landed right inside the phones of English cricketers. Stuart Broad and a circle of his cricketing friends have put together a dedicated WhatsApp group that buzzes into activity each time the teenage prodigy gets going at the crease. During a conversation with former England wicketkeeper batter Jos Buttler, Broad admitted that just when they think they have cracked the code on how to dismiss him, Sooryavanshi does something completely unexpected that leaves them baffled all over again.
The youngster had been relatively subdued by his own extraordinary standards over a handful of recent outings, but he roared back emphatically, hammering 93 runs to power Rajasthan Royals to a successful chase of the 220 run target set by Lucknow Super Giants.
That innings also saw him reclaim the Orange Cap and etch his name into IPL history as the youngest batter ever to cross the 500 run mark in a single season.
“I’ve got a little WhatsApp group that’s with mates who love their cricket, and every time he gets going, it’s like, ‘He’s off again, 43 off 17’. And then it comes back, ‘I thought we’d worked him out, bouncer and Yorker theory,'” Broad said.
Jos Buttler Left Amazed by Teenage Sensation
Buttler was equally glowing in his praise and revealed he had earlier nicknamed the youngster “AI” after spending time with him during the season. Having already shattered multiple records across his IPL journey with Rajasthan Royals, Sooryavanshi now sits within touching distance of another extraordinary milestone.
He requires just six more sixes to equal Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes struck in a single IPL season.
With Rajasthan Royals still having one league fixture remaining against Mumbai Indians, the teenage batter has a genuine opportunity to rewrite history once again.
Sooryavanshi Closing In on Chris Gayle’s Six-Hitting Record
“And talking about sixes, our friend Vaibhav smashed a few sixes again last night. He’s now hit the most sixes for sure by an Indian player in an IPL. He’s over 50 (53) sixes, I think, in the season,” Buttler said.
“And I think it’s only Gayle who’s just ahead of him with maybe one or two more sixes for the all time record for most sixes in a season.”
Numbers Behind Sooryavanshi’s Dominance
Buttler highlighted another statistic that underlines just how destructive Sooryavanshi has been at the top of the order.
“I’ve watched him bat in the powerplay. The stats galore, right? Balls per boundary in the powerplay is two. So every other ball in the powerplay, he hits a four or a six, which is just crazy,” Buttler said.
“Chris Gayle, best T20 player to ever play the game, I think, especially in terms of six hitting, is the record with 59.”
“He’s One Step Ahead of Everyone”
Buttler perhaps summed up Sooryavanshi’s remarkable rise in the simplest possible words.
“He’s one step ahead of everyone.”
At just the beginning of what already appears to be a special career, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to force opponents, experts and even former international stars into searching for answers they still cannot find.
