Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s dream IPL season may have established him as one of the most destructive T20 batters in world cricket, but the Rajasthan Royals youngster has already set his sights on a much bigger goal.
Despite dominating IPL 2026 and rewriting several batting records, the 15-year-old revealed that Test cricket remains his ultimate ambition. The left-handed batter recently opened up about his preparation with the red ball and shared his desire to represent India in Test cricket during a conversation with Harbhajan Singh and Sunil Gavaskar.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi bags big awards in IPL 2026
Sooryavanshi was undoubtedly the biggest star of IPL 2026. The Rajasthan Royals opener finished the tournament as the leading run-scorer, amassing 776 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 237.31 and an average of 48.50. His incredible consistency and fearless batting helped him win the Orange Cap as well as several other major awards.
The youngster also claimed the Most Valuable Player award, Emerging Player of the Season award, Super Striker of the Season award, and the Super Sixes award.
His campaign was highlighted by a record-breaking 72 sixes, including a stunning 36-ball century against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Also, he hit 93, 97 and 96 runs in three of the most important games of the season for the Rajasthan Royals. IPL 2026 firmly established him as one of the brightest young talents in Indian cricket and intensified calls for his inclusion in the national team setup.
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I have practised a lot with a red ball – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
After receiving his awards, Sooryavanshi was asked whether fans would get to see him play a different style of cricket in the coming months. The youngster hinted that his upcoming assignments could showcase another side of his batting.
“Yes, I will have to play on the ground because the next assignment is in a one-day format. I have practised a lot with a red ball, but no one has seen me do that, but they will soon,” Sooryavanshi said.
Notably, Sooryavanshi recently received backing from God of Cricket Sachin Tendulkar and pace-bowling great Dale Steyn to prepare himself to represent India in Test cricket.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi opens up on his Test cricket dreams
Speaking further about his future goals, Sooryavanshi said that his aggressive batting approach is largely influenced by the demands of the T20 format and should not define him as a cricketer.
“People think I love to hit every ball, but this is the T20 format, and coaches give me a free hand to go all guns blazing. And I hit the ball only because I know I can hit them, and it isn’t out of compulsion,” he explained.
The young batter then revealed that representing India in Test cricket remains one of his biggest ambitions.
“I want to play Test cricket, obviously, because my father also taught me that it is the ultimate format, and I have played it as well. I’m yet to play many games, though. I played Ranji Trophy cricket but did not get too many opportunities, and it was challenging for me. But I am going to keep working on that aspect of my game,” he added.
Notably, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi‘s first-class numbers are still quite modest. He has played eight first-class matches so far and scored 207 runs in 12 innings at an average of 17.25. His highest score in first-class cricket is 93, and he has only one half-century to his name.
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