Rajasthan Royals\u2019 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has quickly emerged as one of the early stories of IPL 2026, but his rise began well before his first appearance. Behind it is a structured scouting process, led in part by Akshay Karanje, who identified the youngster early and pushed for his inclusion.<\/p>\n
Karanje, who works as a data analyst, sports scientist and talent identification coordinator, flagged Sooryavanshi during the 2022\u201323 period. His input led to further scouting and eventual trials. Within the setup, it is understood that the decision-makers needed only a brief look at the batter to be convinced.<\/p>\n
Karanje\u2019s role highlights Rajasthan Royals\u2019 growing reliance on data-backed scouting. Director of Cricket (Rajasthan Royals) Kumar Sangakkara has previously pointed to improved analytics and talent identification as key to building a more consistent side. Sooryavanshi\u2019s selection is now seen as a direct result of that approach.<\/p>\n
The process involved multiple checks, including live assessments from different scouts. Once shortlisted, the franchise moved quickly. That clarity in decision-making has allowed young players to transition into the squad with defined roles.<\/p>\n
First-ball six off Bumrah<\/strong><\/p>\n Sooryavanshi\u2019s arrival at the top level has been marked by intent. Against Mumbai Indians, he hit Jasprit Bumrah for a six off the first ball he faced. He followed it with another boundary soon after, showing no signs of hesitation.<\/p>\n He scored 39 off 14 balls in that match, with five sixes, helping Rajasthan maintain control in a rain-affected game. The knock underlined his ability to shift momentum early in the innings.<\/p>\n Across his first three games, the 15-year-old has scored 122 runs at an overall strike rate of 248.97. His 52 off 17 against Chennai Super Kings and 31 off 18 against Gujarat Titans showed he can deliver in different situations.<\/p>\n A large share of his runs has come through boundaries, reflecting his aggressive style. Rajasthan Royals, unbeaten so far, have benefited from his starts at the top. While it is still early days, the signs suggest both the player and the system that backed him are working as intended.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rajasthan Royals\u2019 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has quickly emerged as one of the early stories of IPL 2026, but his\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":473,"featured_media":47722,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[4057],"class_list":["post-47718","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ipl","tag-top-stories"],"reading_time":"2 min read","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47718","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/473"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47718"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47718\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":47741,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47718\/revisions\/47741"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47722"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.businessupturn.com\/sports\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Strong returns in opening matches<\/h3>\n