Monday Jun 08, 2026
Monday Jun 08, 2026
Tuesday, 2 June 2026 07:23 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
ESPNCricinfo: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might have missed winning the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 trophy, but has won everything else he could: the Most Valuable Player (MVP), the Orange Cap (for most runs), and Best Emerging Player. All after becoming the talk of the tournament for his 776 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 237.30. And all at 15 years of age.
Gujarat Titans (GT) quick Kagiso Rabada won the Purple Cap for topping the wickets’ chart. He took 29 wickets from 17 games at an economy rate of 9.68. This was his second Purple Cap, having won it previously in 2020 when he took 30 wickets for Delhi Capitals. Bhuvneshwar Kumar of Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) was a close second with 28 wickets.
Sooryavanshi, 15, is the first player to win both the MVP and Emerging Player awards in the same season. He was the first since Chris Gayle in 2011 to top both the runs and strike rate charts (min. 20 balls faced) in the same season. Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes in IPL 2026, breaking Gayle’s record of most sixes (59) in an IPL season, and played a key role in RR making it to the playoffs. They eventually lost to GT in Qualifier 2 in New Chandigarh.
“It feels nice, but there is pressure because I am doing interviews. It is a proud moment and I will try and do well next season too,” Sooryanvashi said after collecting his awards at the end of the final. “I try to back my game and if the ball is there to be hit, I go all out for it and just try to play that way.”
GT Captain Shubman Gill was second on the Orange Cap list with 732 runs. He was followed by his teammate and opening partner Sai Sudharsan, who finished with 722.
