Jos Buttler Backs Vaibhav Sooryavanshi to Break Chris Gayle’s IPL Record
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The Rise of a Teenage Phenomenon in IPL 2026
The Indian Premier League (IPL) has long been celebrated as a platform where raw talent meets global opportunity. However, what Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is accomplishing in IPL 2026 has completely redefined what cricket fans thought was possible. At just 15 years of age, the Rajasthan Royals (RR) star has taken the tournament by storm, dominating world-class bowling attacks and sitting comfortably near the top of the Orange Cap leaderboard.
His extraordinary performances have caught the attention of cricketing legends worldwide. Among his biggest admirers are England’s star batsman Jos Buttler and legendary fast bowler Stuart Broad. Speaking on a recent episode of the podcast ‘For the Love of Cricket,’ both players expressed their sheer disbelief at the young prodigy’s explosive power-hitting and strategic maturity on the field.
Chasing Chris Gayle’s Historic Sixes Record
One of the most mind-boggling aspects of Sooryavanshi’s breakthrough season is his relentless pursuit of a milestone held by one of the greatest T20 players of all time. West Indies legend Chris Gayle currently holds the all-time IPL record for the most sixes in a single season with 59. Right now, Sooryavanshi is sitting on an incredible 53 sixes, leaving him just seven sixes away from creating history.
Buttler highlighted this historic chase, pointing to Sooryavanshi’s sensational knock of 93 runs off just 38 balls in his most recent outing.
“And talking about sixes, our friend Vaibhav smashed a few sixes again last night — 93 off 38. 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. 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,” Buttler said.
The Astonishing Stats Behind the Powerplay
What makes Sooryavanshi’s run-scoring even more remarkable is the sheer pace at which he operates. The teenager is currently striking at nearly 240 this season. It is an efficiency rate so absurd that Stuart Broad joked it practically translates to “236 runs for every hundred balls he faces.”
Buttler also shed light on the young opener’s unmatched dominance during the critical powerplay overs, where he routinely puts opposition captains on the back foot immediately.
- Current Season Sixes: 53
- Gayle’s All-Time Record: 59
- Season Strike Rate: Close to 240
- Powerplay Efficiency: A boundary every 2 balls
“I’ve watched him bat in the powerplay,” Buttler explained. “The stats galore, right? Balls per boundary in the powerplay are two. So every other ball in the powerplay, he hits a four or a six, which is just crazy.”
Always One Step Ahead of the Bowlers
Whenever a young talent bursts onto the scene, opposition analysts and bowlers quickly work to dissect their technique and exploit weaknesses. Yet, despite various tactical shifts from opposing teams, Sooryavanshi has remained virtually unstoppable.
Stuart Broad noted how teams have attempted to neutralize the 15-year-old with aggressive short-pitched bowling and pinpoint yorkers, only for Sooryavanshi to easily counter their plans and get Rajasthan Royals off to flying starts.
“Every time he gets going, it’s like, ‘He’s off again – 43 off 17,’” Broad observed. “And then it comes back, ‘I thought we’d worked him out—bouncer and Yorker theory.’”
Buttler agreed with his former England teammate’s sentiment, stating simply: “He’s one step ahead of everyone.”
Playoffs Present the Ultimate Stage to Make History
With the Rajasthan Royals performing strongly and pushing hard for a spot in the IPL 2026 playoffs, Sooryavanshi is highly likely to get multiple opportunities to eclipse Gayle’s legendary mark of 59 sixes. For Buttler, the sheer scale of what the young batsman is doing at such an early stage of his life is nothing short of historic.
“So I think if Rajasthan gets through to the playoffs, then Vaibhav will definitely go past that record,” Buttler concluded. “Which again, it’s just another one of these mind-boggling things that he’s doing at 15 years of age.”
As the tournament approaches its business end, all eyes will be on this young sensation to see if he can officially dethrone the ‘Universe Boss’ and etch his name into IPL folklore.
