Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shubman Gill [Source: AFP]There hasn't been much blemish on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's performances after his IPL 2026 explosion with the bat. The young gun of Rajasthan Royals has consistently performed with his explosive strike rate of 236.56 while maintaining a solid average of 40.00. Yet, a question was put up by former cricketer Matthew Hayden, who was also one of the most destructive batters of his time. Hayden, who is currently serving as the Gujarat Titans' batting coach, criticised Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, as he subtly hinted that the 15-year-old’s batting style should be changed, like that of GT stars Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan. Sooryavanshi’s Explosive Approach With The Bat To be statistically accurate, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's performances have been super explosive but with on-and-off scores. Although his average boasts a solid 40.00 on the data sheet, there have been matches where Sooryavanshi has been out for a golden duck and scored numbers like 8, 4, and 31. While his scores haven't been a problem since he does the most in the powerplay for Rajasthan Royals, the thing of concern is that the highest number of balls Sooryavanshi has faced in IPL 2026 is just 37. During the RR vs SRH clash on April 25, he posted a 37-ball 103, breaking several records, but Matthew Hayden questioned his explosive approach after the match.Also Read- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's Retirement Date Stamped By England LegendMatthew Hayden Takes Subtle Dig At Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Approach In the RR vs GT game, Sooryavanshi scored a 16-ball 36 before getting dismissed in the third over. Comparatively, Sai Sudharsan and Shubman Gill scored fifties and put up a total of 118 runs together from 65 balls while the opening duo played deep into the middle-over phase. While praising the trio of Gill, Sudharsan, and Jos Buttler for consistently playing around a strike rate of 150 and also boasting solid averages throughout the tournament, Hayden took a swipe at Sooryavanshi's explosive nature. "Well, tonight was a good example, right, of an exciting young talent in Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He batted, got 30 runs at a strike rate of 300. But when you're chasing 220 odd, you need to bat longer and deeper. So the advantage that we have is that we get players, like the top three that you mentioned, who are striking at 150,” Hayden said. Hayden further praised Gill and Sudharsan's ability to sustain the initial powerplay overs, where batters are tempted to go big and clear the boundary ropes. Instead, GT's opening duo constantly strives to take the game as long as possible to ease off the pressure from the middle order. "Let me tell you as a batter, that is really hard, and they're doing it for a long period of time, they're constantly getting into the back half of the game, not just batting inside the powerplay. They're going right through with their fitness and their ability to be able to really play Test match-type cricket, and ODI cricket in particular,” Hayden added. Why Sooryavanshi Should Learn From Gill And Sai?While these were words of hidden advice from Matthew Hayden, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could surely utilise them. While chasing a mammoth target of 230 runs from the Gujarat Titans on May 9, the Rajasthan Royals were bundled out for just 152. One of the primary reasons for it was the fall of early wickets. Rajasthan lost both the openers, Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal, inside four overs, while Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel also failed to impress, leaving RR reeling at 87 for 4 at the end of 7.3 overs. Gradually, wickets tumbled, and no resilience was shown, with Rashid Khan bringing up magical figures of 4 for 33 from his four-over spell. Jason Holder bagged three wickets, and Kagiso Rabada picked up two wickets that shut down the fate of the initial league dominators, Rajasthan Royals.Also Read- IPL 2026: RCB vs MI Prediction, Match 54- Who Will Win Today?
