New Delhi, April 9 – Former South Africa captain and SA20 Commissioner Graeme Smith has described Rajasthan Royals batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as a "true superstar" and expressed excitement about his performance in the remainder of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026.
Sooryavanshi, who is just 15 years and 12 days old, recently made headlines by performing exceptionally well against the Mumbai Indians at the ACA Stadium in Guwahati. Facing the world's top fast bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, Sooryavanshi demonstrated his fearless approach by hitting a 131.2kph delivery for a maximum.
In total, Sooryavanshi has scored 122 runs in three IPL 2026 innings so far. "The IPL has started exactly as I expected, with flatter pitches and high-scoring games. As always, it's interesting to see how established stars like Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli perform, but I think this young player for the Rajasthan Royals, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is someone to watch in the early weeks.
"He has already shown his ability to perform from the first ball. As a young player, he could become a true superstar during the tournament, and I'm really excited to see how he goes," Smith wrote in his blog.
Smith, who was a member of the RR side that won the inaugural IPL title in 2008, further highlighted how the tournament's robust scouting system and franchise excellence have fundamentally altered the global cricket landscape, creating a blueprint that has been instrumental in the success of South Africa's own SA20.
"Our six franchises are a huge and integral part of the growth of SA20. We were very fortunate to attract six high-quality IPL teams, and they are the most experienced franchise owners in the world.
"They are very competitive, they want to win, and they bring a level of cricket and business excellence across the board, from coaching to medical care. The IPL franchises have brilliant scouts – the talent they find doesn't always come through the system.
"When you're trying to rebuild and grow a cricket ecosystem, to have partners like that is amazing. It's kind of impossible to compete with the IPL, but we've been fortunate that they've been very open with us, and have helped us build the big blocks in the early phases," he elaborated.
While acknowledging the enduring value of the longer format, Smith felt that T20 remains the primary engine for cricket's commercial and geographical expansion. "We all love Test cricket, but T20 is the growth format. It's bringing private ownership into the game, and we're seeing the huge valuations now.
"People around the globe are taking cricket seriously; it has a huge number of viewers, and it's growing in all the key markets. The interesting thing to see now is where it can go over the next four to five years, with private ownership in the game and the 2028 Olympics coming up."
