Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Called Out By India Great; Urges BCCI To Take Action

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi for RR - (Source: AFP)

On Sunday, May 24, Rajasthan Royals qualified for the IPL 2026 playoffs after the Riyan Parag-led side handed MI a defeat. The inuagural winners are eyeing their 2nd IPL trophy, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been the one who is taking the franchise closer to that dream.

Talking about the 15-year-old, he has amassed 583 runs in 14 innings and has been the fifth leading run-getter of IPL 2026. For RR, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is their leading run-getter this season. Hence, it is really important for him to be in form.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi In form As An Impact Sub

In IPL 2026, RR have mostly used Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as an impact sub. Despite coming on just to bat, the youngster has not let his focus slip. It is not every season that you see a 15-year-old carrying a team and having so many responsibilities on his shoulders.

During the course of this two month tournament, several cricket pundits have praised RR and termed Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the best impact sub because of his underwhelming fielding.

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For the unversed, there are concerns around Sooryavanshi’s fitness as he has already injured himself twice in IPL 2026 when putting in a dive to stop the ball. Hence, RR are careful and don’t want their best batter to be out of action due to a mishap in the field.

Sanjay Manjrekar Slams RR For Not Allowing Sooryavanshi To Field

In the latest events, former India player turned analyst Sanjay Manjrekar has slammed Rajasthan Royals. The former India star remarked that he wants the impact sub rule to be scrapped because international cricket do not have such a rule.

For player like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, if he plays for the Men in Blue, then he will have to take the field, which he is not used to do, as remarked by Sanjay Manjrekar.

"The more I think about it, the more I feel we need to do away with the Impact Player rule for this very reason. Is that really what we want to see about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi? To only see one side of his game," remarked Manjrekar speaking to Sportstar’s Inside Edge podcast. 

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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Impresses On Field vs Mumbai Indians

Interestingly, in Rajasthan Royals' last group stage match against Mumbai Indians, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was not used as an impact sub. The 15-year-old took the field and also impressed with his performance.

The youngster took a catch of Ryan Rickelton and became the youngest player in the history of IPL to take a catch in the cash-studded league.

Will Impact Rule Hurt Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?

Abhinav's Take On It

What Sanjay Manjrekar said here is not entirely wrong. For a youngster like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, he needs to be more on the field to understand the further Knitty Gritty of the sport.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's India call-up is inevitable and the team needs him to be on top of his fielding standards as well. Also, fielding will prompt him to improve his fitness.