Rajasthan Royals (RR) wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel gave a glimpse into Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's work ethic following the latter's 29-ball 97 in the IPL 2026 Eliminator against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Wednesday.
Sooryavanshi just fell short of breaking Chris Gayle's record of scoring the fastest IPL century. The West Indian legend currently holds the record for the fastest century in IPL, having reached the milestone in 30 balls against Pune Warriors India in 2013.
Dhruv Jurel on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
"The best thing about Vaibhav that I have noticed is that he doesn't plan anything," Dhruv Jurel said at the post-match press conference. "Because he practices a lot and he always backs himself. That's what he does every time he goes out and plays. The best thing about him is that he backs himself. He doesn't even have a shadow of doubt that 'I am not able to do it," he added.
According to Jurel, the 15-year-old is not bothered about which bowler he faces. "When we go to an academy, (we are told) 'Don't watch the bowler, watch the ball'," said Jurel. “As 17-year-olds, we always watch the bowler (and think) he's a big name. But really, he just watches the ball. That's all.”
He added, "His mantra is 'I don't want give a damn about any bowler'." After the match, SRH assistant coach James Franklin said they tried to come up with every possible solution to get Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's wicket.
"There was a very, very small margin where you could bowl to him. I guess when you're playing on a really good pitch as well, it makes it particularly hard for bowlers to try and execute that tiny margin that you're looking for," the former New Zealand cricketer said at the post-match press conference.
"I think you probably saw in the first couple of overs of the Powerplay that we were trying to bowl quite full, sort of inside leg stump, trying to get under his swing. But he started to work that out," he added.
Franklin also spoke on the unique talent that Sooryavanshi possesses. "I don't think anyone's ever seen a talent like this," he said.
"It's freakish what he's doing at the moment. To think that he's potentially got 25 years left in his career is quite scary. He's only going to get better, he's only going to get stronger, he's only going to get more mature with how he bats," the 45-year-old added.
Following his stellar knock on Wednesday, Sooryavanshi beat Sai Sudharsan to take top spot in the Orange Cap standings. The Bihar youngster has 680 runs from 15 matches at a strike rate of 242.85, whereas Sudharsan is in second place with 650 runs.
Sooryavanshi's knock helped RR post 243/8 after being asked to bat first. In reply, SRH were bowled out for 196 in 19.2 overs. Riyan Parag and Co will next take on Gujarat Titans (GT) in Qualifier 2 in Mullanpur on Friday.
The winner of that match will face defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in Sunday's final in Ahmedabad.