After impressing the cricket world with his explosive batting, teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who won a record-breaking five awards in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, will now be at the centre of research by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Indore.
To explore how early fame and the pressures bring impact on the future of child prodigies, the IIM Indore will conduct a study focusing on the 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals batter, a top official of the business school said on Tuesday.
Sooryavanshi topped the list of highest run-scorers in the just-concluded IPL season, amassing 776 runs in 16 innings at an impressive strike rate of 237.30. The teenager was named the T20 league’s Most Valuable Player and also won the Orange Cap
after scoring a century and five half-centuries.
IIM Indore Director Himanshu Rai told PTI that the institute’s study aimed not only to analyse the young cricketers’ on-field exploits, but also to identify the factors that play a role in the development of a talent that achieves extraordinary success at a young age.
Rai said, “We want to understand what factors drive the extraordinary performance of child prodigies. Personality, behaviour, and practice patterns, along with the support of parents, teachers, coaches, and seniors, are crucial for such performance.”
He noted that many child prodigies around the world have achieved great heights at a young age, but later face the pressures of wealth, fame, social media, and rising expectations.
“In our study, we also want to look at how to deal with such expectations or obstacles,” Rai maintained.
Sooryavanshi was selected for the study because cricket is very popular in India, and public pressure, especially on young players, is far greater in this game than in other sports, the IIM Indore Director explained.
The Bihar-born left-handed batter also broke West Indies great Chris Gayle’s previous IPL record for most sixes in a season (59) as he smashed 72 maximums in IPL 2026.
The 15-year-old impressed everyone with his fearless approach against some of the world’s top bowlers, including Jasprit Bumrah, Kagiso Rabada, and Pat Cummins.
The IIM Director stated that the institute’s study on child talent will involve experts from psychology, sociology, human resources, communication, and behavioural sciences.
According to him, the study will begin in the next two weeks and is targeted to be completed in about three months.
Rai stated that the study will not be limited to athletes, and its findings could also be useful for talents who achieve exceptional recognition at an early age in mathematics, science, arts, or other fields.
As per Rai, the study aims to develop practical and policy conclusions that can guide the holistic and sustainable development of emerging talent in the future.
The findings of the study will be sent to research journals and also shared with the Indian cricket board (BCCI), he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
