Rajasthan Royals Spotted Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as Early as 2022–23, Kumar Sangakkara Reveals

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was discovered by Rajasthan Royals from Bihar in 2022-23. This was revealed by Head Coach Kumar Sangakkara himself during a press conference.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is making headlines this IPL season by hitting sixes off the deliveries of the world's most dangerous bowler, Jasprit Bumrah. Although the 19th season of the Indian Premier League (IPL 2026) has just begun, Vaibhav has once again captured everyone's attention. His ability to face bowlers like Bumrah, his approach against Trent Boult, and his fearlessness against the opposition team became evident when he smashed 39 runs in just 14 balls against Mumbai Indians, including five sixes (two against Bumrah).

Suryavanshi Won the First Round

Everyone was eager to witness the Suryavanshi vs. Bumrah contest, and this wonder boy won the first round itself. The smile on Bumrah's face after being hit for a six on the very first ball said it all. To prove that the first six was no fluke, Vaibhav sent another ball soaring over the boundary and into the stands in the same over.

Akshay Karranje Discovered Vaibhav Between 2022-2023

It is worth noting that Suryavanshi has been in tremendous form for the past few months. He has continued his excellent form and fearless batting from the Under-19 World Cup into the IPL. Rajasthan Royals' Talent Identification Coordinator, Akshay Karranje, must be feeling proud seeing the recognition he received last season and his performance in the first three matches this year, as it was Karranje who casually sent a message to the Rajasthan Royals group between 2022-2023.

Kumar Sangakkara Reveals

During a press conference in Guwahati, Rajasthan Royals' Head Coach Kumar Sangakkara revealed, "I think it was around 2022 or 23 when one of our analysts, Akshay Karranje, told us, 'You know, there's a very exciting young player named Vaibhav Suryavanshi.'"

He sent a message to the group stating, "I've seen this exciting young player, and we should really take a look at him." Following this, we sent another scout who went to see him, and all of them had the same feedback. Yes, we must have him in our team.

This is how we identified Vaibhav. All of this happened because of the changes we made to our analyst and scouting methods, and we invested our time in this process. Then, we called Vaibhav for trials. Anyone who watches Vaibhav for just five minutes understands that it's not just about talent.

Rajasthan Royals Changed Strategy

The former Sri Lankan captain also explained how the franchise heavily invested in its scouting program to find young talent and shifted its strategy from relying on experience to investing in youth.

He said, "In 2022, we had Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shimron Hetmyer, Jos Buttler at the top, and Sanju Samson was captaining the team. So, we had no shortage of experience. Therefore, we made a slight shift in our thinking. We also started taking care of our players throughout the year, which has had a truly profound impact on their development."

Then we started working on better scouting and better data analysis. We made significant changes that have truly put us on the path to becoming a better team. A team that performs consistently well. That's why we always keep an eye on the best young players.