Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 (Credit: AP) Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who is only 15 years old and in his second IPL season, almost won every batting award on Sunday night at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Sooryavanshi won the Emerging Player award, the Orange Cap, the Super Striker award, and the Most Valuable Player title during a season in which he amassed 776 runs at an incredible strike rate of 237.31. However, Sooryavanshi is not finished yet. The Rajasthan Royals star has already set his sights on what he believes to be the greatest challenge of his career following a record-breaking IPL season. The IPL 2026 breakout star was Sooryavanshi. The left-hander demonstrated maturity under pressure and effortlessly destroyed some of the top bowlers in the world. Discussions over an India call-up and whether he has the skill to excel in all formats were spurred by his performances. Sooryavanshi is already looking beyond T20 cricket, despite the growing excitement surrounding an India debut. After Royal Challengers Bengaluru defeated Gujarat Titans in the final, former India spinner R Ashwin joked that Sooryavanshi had missed out on one batting award: the award for hitting the most fours in the season. He also asked Sooryavanshi if he planned to keep the ball on the ground. In response, Sooryavanshi stated that fans would soon witness a different aspect of his batting during the forthcoming India A assignments before disclosing that he has also been working hard with the red ball. Sooryavanshi hinted at exciting things to come, but he did not reveal the specifics of his practice. "Yes, I will have to play on the ground because the next assignment is in a one-day format," he said. "I have practised a lot with a red ball, but no one has seen me do that, but they will soon." When Harbhajan Singh questioned Sooryavanshi further about his aspirations to play Test cricket, he explained that although he has gained recognition for his six-hitting prowess, it is not the only component of his game. "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. "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 said. Since making his debut for the Bihar side in January 2024, Sooryavanshi has only participated in eight first-class games. He has one half-century and 207 runs in 12 innings. At the junior level, he has also shown promise; last year, he scored a century off 58 balls for India U-19 against Australia. Get Latest News Live on Times Now along with Breaking News and Top Headlines from Cricket, IPL 2026, IPL Points Table, and around the Sports. Nikhil is an accomplished sports journalist with extensive experience spanning several years across digital, and multimedia platforms. Currently contr... View More