Ex-England pacer shares trick to stop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's dominance

Ever since 14-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took IPL 2025 by storm and made a 35-ball century, bowlers across the world have been scrambling to find a way to get him out.

Now a full year older and wiser, he hasn't given up his aggressive ways and, in fact, has bettered his performances from last year. The southpaw from Bihar held the Orange Cap in IPL 2026 for a while and still is in contention for the cap as he is currently the fourth-highest run-getter of this season.

So far, the 15-year-old has made 246 runs from six matches at an eye-watering strike rate of 237. He also has two fifties, both of which he reached in just 15 balls.

"Probably pull a calf or a hamstring before your captain asks you to bowl" - Steven Finn

Talking on the "For The Love of Cricket" Podcast, which is hosted by former England pacer Stuart Broad, Broad's compatriot and also a former pacer, Steven Finn, initially joked that bowlers may have to pretend to be injured if they don't want to bowl to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

"Probably pull a calf or a hamstring or something before your captain asks you to bowl," said Finn jokingly.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has taken reputed names like Jasprit Bumrah and Josh Hazlewood to the cleaners this year and has had everyone wracking their brains for an answer.

"It looks incredibly hard, doesn't it? Even just watching the videos of him training in the nets against Jofra Archer, who is trying everything. Full and wide, short, full and straight... and all of them were going to the boundary," Finn observed.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi could be caught by surprise by a tight line

Finn said that the best way to get Vaibhav Sooryavanshi out could be to catch him off guard. He went on to say that the best way of achieving this was by bowling by a tight line around the back of a length and protecting the leg side with fielders.

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"When someone likes to play as free-flowing as he does, you'd think a few in and around the tight line and the back of the length, or over the top of the stumps, try to protect the leg-side to begin with," Finn said.

"And then if you could throw in like a full, slow, wide one and make him reach for it out there on the back of three or four tight deliveries, you could catch him off guard," he added.

"Pot of luck right now" - Steven Finn

Finn eventually concluded by saying that the way Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is currently batting, bowlers may need luck on their side as well apart from just their skill if they have to dismiss the teenager.

"At the moment it seems to be pot luck as to whether you get him or not," Finn further said.

Rajasthan Royals (RR) started the season very strongly with four wins in a row, but have now lost their last two matches. RR are currently in third place on the points table with eight points from six matches.

RR will face Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on April 22 for their next match. LSG themselves are on a three-match losing streak and are placed ninth on the points table. Depending on what happens on Tuesday, the clash against LSG could provide Sooryavanshi with another opportunity to push himself for the Orange Cap.