India, June 2 -- The IPL has produced seasons that became folklore. Chris Gayle in 2011 turned batting into intimidation. Virat Kohli, in 2016, made run accumulation look effortless and endless. David Warner carried Sunrisers Hyderabad to a title through sheer relentlessness. Ruturaj Gaikwad in 2021 announced himself with the Orange Cap, the Emerging Player award, and a championship in the same breath.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's IPL 2026 belongs in that room. The question is not whether he joins those greats - it is whether he has already walked past them.

The numbers make that debate unavoidable. Vaibhav finished with 776 runs from 16 innings, at a strike rate of 238, with 63 fours and 72 sixes. He claimed the Orange Cap, Emerging Player, ...