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Chennai Super Kings star Sarfaraz Khan remembered the first time he saw Rajasthan Royals teenage player Vaibhav Suryavanshi playing. Sarfaraz said this on the sidelines of a jersey launch event in Mumbai for the T20 Mumbai League.
Suryavanshi’s exploits in IPL 2026 have stunned the world, but Sarfaraz had claimed to see something special in the teenager more than two years ago. Now, there are already many demands for Suryavanshi to be selected in the Indian team at least in T20.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Rajasthan Royals’ IPL 2026 campaign came to an end on Friday when, despite scoring 96 runs off 47 balls, RR failed to defend 214 runs against Gujarat Titans.
Even at the age of 12, he had amazing talent – ​​Sarfaraz Khan
Sarfaraz Khan reminisces about playing against Suryavanshi for the first time in 2024. In January 2024, Vaibhav Suryavanshi made his Ranji Trophy debut for Bihar against Mumbai at the age of just 12 years and 284 days. He became the youngest player to make his first-class debut in more than six decades.
Bihar lost by an innings and 51 runs while Suryavanshi could only score modest scores of 19 and 12 runs. Sarfaraz said that even at such a young age, Suryavanshi has shown great skills. “He is a very good friend of mine and we keep in touch. I first saw him during his Ranji debut and even then, I could see that he had very good skills,” Sarfaraz was quoted as saying by Mumbai Mirror.
He can play all formats- Sarfaraz Khan
When Sarfaraz was asked whether Vaibhav had what it takes to succeed in all formats of the game, he replied in the affirmative. “He can play both red-ball and white-ball cricket,” Sarfaraz said. Outside the IPL, most of Suryavanshi’s exploits have come at the Under-19 level.
Earlier this year, he finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the Under-19 World Cup as India won the tournament. Vaibhav Suryavanshi gave his best performance in the final, scoring 175 runs in just 80 balls against England.
In September 2024, at the age of just 13, he scored the second fastest century ever in Youth Test. Suryavanshi has the second and third fastest century so far in Youth ODI.
In December 2025, he scored a century in 36 balls against Arunachal Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. That day, he scored the fastest 150 in List-A history by achieving the milestone in 59 balls and eventually scored 190 off just 84 balls.
“His mentality is completely different” – Sarfaraz
Sarfaraz Khan said that what set Suryavanshi apart from other players was not just his talent, but also his work ethic. Sararaj said that Suryavanshi’s mentality is completely different from many other players.
Sarfaraz said, “His mentality and preparation is different. Anyone can be successful with hard work, but he has worked very hard on his game.”
Vaibhav Suryavanshi in IPL 2026
Vaibhav Suryavanshi was successful in breaking many records in IPL this year. Currently he has the Orange Cap with 776 runs in 16 matches. Suryavanshi scored runs at an average of 48.50 and a tremendous strike rate of 237.
He scored 5 half-centuries and one century. His 72 sixes are already the record for most sixes by a batsman in an IPL season. While it is true that he may lose the Orange Cap now, it cannot be denied that Vaibhav Suryavanshi had one of the best, if not the best, IPL season by any batsman of all time.
Also read: Vaibhav Suryavanshi included in India’s ODI team for England tour: Report
