It seems that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may be the biggest topic ahead of the Gujarat Titans vs Rajasthan Royals (GT vs RR) Qualifier 2 match of the IPL 2026 season. There are plenty of comments, opinions, and predictions hovering around the corners of the social media platforms.
While most of the discussions are related to the 15-year-old batter, former Team India cricketer Harbhajan Singh talks about the other opener of the Rajasthan Royals, Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Yashasvi Jaiswal is under the shadow of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Ahead of Vaibhav’s arrival, Yashasvi Jaiswal was considered one of the brightest young prospects in Indian cricket. On paper, the pair of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal looks astonishing, but the reality is slightly underwhelming.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is currently on top of the world after making all the carnage against the Sunrisers Hyderabad. Harbhajan Singh points out that Yashasvi Jaiswal also could capture the headlines, but he is curving his natural batting style.
Harbhajan Singh's advice to Yashasvi Jaiswal ahead of the GT vs RR match
The former cricketer explains that Sooryavanshi is a natural six-hitter and Jaiswal is a natural four-hitter, so there is a difference between the two batters. So far, Jaiswal has amassed 426 runs across 15 innings at a strike rate of 152.23.
According to Harbhajan, Jaiswal has been trying to play like Sooryavanshi, which is smashing more maximums than paying focus on hitting 4s.
“If I am in the RR camp, I will tell him just one thing, 'You don't have to try and be Vaibhav Suryavanshi. You have to remain Jaiswal.' Just be Jaiswal, he is far ahead of many players. Not many have the kind of game that he has," Harbhajan Singh said on Star Sports ahead of RR's IPL 2026 Qualifier 2 against Gujarat Titans.
"Yashasvi just needs to time the ball. He is also trying to hit the ball too hard, which is why his body weight is going backwards, and the ball is going in the air. All he needs to do is just back himself and play along the ground and time the ball.”
“He has never been that six-hitter. That's the difference between Jaiswal and Suryavanshi. Suryavanshi is a six-hitter, and Jaiswal is a four-hitter. When a four-hitter tries to hit sixes, his body weight moves. So, if he tries to hit fours, the sixes will automatically come in that flow,” he added.
Harbhajan predicts a close contest
Harbhajan further mentioned that GT has a stronger bowling attack than the Sunrisers Hyderabad. The momentum is currently with the Royals, but because of the quality bowling line-up of Gujarat, the contest is going to be highly competitive.
“The match is in Punjab. Shubman Gill will feel at home. However, I feel Rajasthan is definitely slightly ahead because of the momentum, but with the kind of team and bowling attack GT has, they will not concede the kind of runs that SRH did,” Harbhajan stated.
