Royal Challengers Bengaluru star batter Virat Kohli‘s gesture for Rajasthan Royals young sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after their IPL 2026 encounter has gone viral on social media. Sooryavanshi was in devastating form as the 15-year-old slammed 78 off just 26 deliveries to guide his team to a comfortable six-wicket win. Chasing a formidable total of 203, Sooryavanshi made sure that RR were never under considerable pressure and his brilliant knock even earned him the IPL Orange Cap. Kohli experienced the youngster’s explosive batting firsthand and he had a few words of encouragement for him.
Player of the Match
Orange Cap
An autograph from KohliGood night to everyone and remember to keep believing in yourself no matter what pic.twitter.com/Up2BZuYObM
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 10, 2026
After the end of the match, Sooryavanshi was able to get an autograph from Virat as the former India captain signed his Rajasthan Royals cap and wrote a small message for him. “Dear Vaibhav, well done,” Kohli wrote for Sooryavanshi.
A job well done with a long road ahead!pic.twitter.com/tymVTrdeqK
— Rajasthan Royals (@rajasthanroyals) April 11, 2026
Rajasthan Royals (RR) captain Riyan Parag praised 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as somebody everyone loves and likes having around after the batter helped the team register a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 match on Friday.
With RR chasing 202 runs, RR were led by a blazing 78 off 26 balls from Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and an unbeaten 81 from Dhruv Jurel. Notably, Sooryavanshi slammed eight fours and seven sixes in his innings. Sooryavanshi also became the holder of the IPL 2026 Orange Cap (most runs) with 200 runs to his name in just four matches.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, RR captain Riyan Parag said Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is a fun-loving character who is well-liked in the team. Parag said that Sooryavanshi likes eating and going out, and the team makes sure that it is available to him as long as he keeps batting the way he is.
“I think everyone loves him. Everyone loves having him around. He likes eating stuff. He likes going out and stuff like that. So we make sure we make that available for him. And he’s a 16-year-old kid, 15-year-old, whatever it is. Yeah, doing kiddish things. And he’s happy with that. He likes a lot of batting. So we make sure that is presented to him. And if he keeps on batting like that, I think whatever he wants,” Parag said.
(With ANI inputs)