India, May 31 -- Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the first uncapped Indian player in history to score more than 700 runs in a single IPL season. With 776 runs in 16 innings, he finished IPL 2026 as the Orange Cap holder, piling up those runs at a staggering strike rate of 237.31, with a century and five fifties.

Following a season that has defied imagination, especially for a 15-year-old, conversations around a fast-tracked India debut have only grown louder. Yet, despite all the noise surrounding Sooryavanshi's rise, Ambati Rayudu saw India's future T20 opening pair very differently.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, the former India batter did not pick Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Ishan Kishan or even Sooryavanshi while outlining his preferred ...