Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Ready For India Call-Up? Kumar Sangakkara Makes Massive Statement

Kumar Sangakkara backed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for international cricket after the teenager’s sensational IPL 2026 campaign despite Rajasthan Royals’ playoff exit.

Rajasthan Royals head coach Kumar Sangakkara has thrown his weight behind teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, stating that the youngster is ready for the next level after an extraordinary IPL 2026 season.

The 15-year-old emerged as one of the biggest stars of the tournament, scoring 776 runs in 16 innings at a staggering strike rate of 237.30. Remarkably, 684 of those runs came through boundaries, underlining his fearless approach against some of the world’s finest bowlers.

Speaking after Rajasthan Royals were knocked out of IPL 2026 by Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2, Sangakkara praised the youngster’s temperament and ability to thrive under pressure.

“With everything Vaibhav’s shown against some of the best bowlers in the world, I think he’s more than ready to take on any challenge that you throw at him,” Sangakkara said after RR lost Qualifier 2 to Gujarat Titans (GT). “I’m sure that he’ll get that call-up very, very soon. He’s batted with a lot of maturity, he has shouldered the responsibility of that opening partnership so well for us this season.”

Coach Reveals Rajasthan Royals’ Approach Towards The Teen Star

Sooryavanshi once again impressed during Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans, hammering 96 runs off just 47 deliveries on a challenging surface in New Chandigarh. Despite facing a barrage of short-pitched deliveries from GT’s pace attack and watching wickets tumble around him, the teenager adapted brilliantly and kept Rajasthan Royals in the contest.

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Sangakkara revealed that the franchise deliberately avoids overloading the young batter with information and instead focuses on allowing him to play with freedom and confidence.

“Yeah, I think we’ve got a good plan around him,” Sangakkara said. “We don’t clutter his mind too much. He comes to all our team meetings, he contributes, he listens, and he does a lot of homework. He practises well and he reads bowlers well, he watches their videos and prepares himself really well. So we don’t want to put any unnecessary thoughts into his head. I think a clear mind, batting with that courage is exactly what we want to see of him.”

Sangakkara Proud Of Royals’ Fight And Riyan Parag’s Leadership

Despite missing key players at different stages of the campaign and dealing with injuries to several senior members, Rajasthan Royals managed to reach Qualifier 2 after finishing ninth in the previous season.

Sangakkara reserved special praise for emerging players such as Yash Raj Punja and Brijesh Sharma while applauding the collective effort of the squad.

“I think everyone should be extremely proud of themselves,” Sangakkara said. “I mean, Yash had a great season and Brijesh had a very good season but everyone around them, to Riyan to Dhruv [Jurel] also. Dhruv sometimes goes unnoticed, Don [Donovan Ferreira] in the middle, Jofra Archer, Jadeja, [Shubham] Dubey in a few games for us.

“Everyone who came in tried their best, so I think from where we were last season [ninth] to have got here, dragging ourselves here is a great sign. I think there’s a lot more in the tank for these players, but I can’t be prouder of a team than I am now. They’re a wonderful bunch of guys, highly skilled, and they played really hard to get where they got to and where we got to. Unfortunately, we couldn’t make the final.”

The former Sri Lanka captain also applauded Riyan Parag for his first full season as Rajasthan Royals skipper and expressed confidence that the young leader would continue to grow.

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“I thought Riyan’s first season as captain was excellent,” Sangakkara said. “He really managed his team well. He managed his on-field decisions quite well. He will grow and learn, so will the other players, and we will just come back better. I think no one really probably gave us a chance to qualify [for the playoffs] when we started the campaign.

“But it just goes to show that when you work hard, you play some good cricket and you enjoy playing this game, you can make some special things happen.”