Fifteen-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi entered his name in the record books on Sunday (May 31) by winning the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Season award. The left-handed batter from Bihar, who played all 16 matches for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026 and scored 776 runs, finished the season with 436.5 MVP points.
Vaibhav, who is 15 years and 65 days old, is the youngest player in IPL history to win MVP of the season award.
Age no bar for this truly special teenager 👏🙌
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the winner of the ???????????????? ???????????????????????????????? ???????????????????????? Award with 4⃣3⃣6⃣.5⃣ points 🩷#TATAIPL | #Final | #TheFinalLeap | #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/DowJeSDF5X
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 31, 2026
In addition to winning
the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the Season award, Vaibhav also bagged the Orange Cap, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season and Super Sixes of the Season awards.
He batted at a strike rate of 237.30 in IPL 2026 and hammered a total of 72 sixes, the most by any player in a single edition of the IPL.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in IPL 2026
| RUNS | BALLS | 4/6s | STRIKE RATE | AGAINST | VENUE | DATE |
| 52 | 17 | 4/5 | 305.88 | Chennai Super Kings | Guwahati | March 30 |
| 31 | 18 | 5/1 | 172.22 | Gujarat Titans | Ahmedabad | April 4 |
| 39 | 14 | 1/5 | 278.57 | Mumbai Indians | Guwahati | April 7 |
| 78 | 26 | 8/7 | 300.00 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | Guwahati | April 10 |
| 0 | 1 | 0/0 | 0.00 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Hyderabad | April 13 |
| 46 | 28 | 6/2 | 164.28 | Kolkata Knight Riders | Kolkata | April 19 |
| 8 | 11 | 2/0 | 72.72 | Lucknow Super Giants | Lucknow | April 22 |
| 103 | 37 | 5/12 | 278.37 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | Jaipur | April 25 |
| 43 | 16 | 3/5 | 268.75 | Punjab Kings | New Chandigarh | April 28 |
| 4 | 2 | 1/0 | 200.00 | Delhi Capitals | Jaipur | May 1 |
| 36 | 16 | 3/3 | 225.00 | Gujarat Titans | Jaipur | May 9 |
| 46 | 21 | 5/3 | 219.04 | Delhi Capitals | Delhi | May 17 |
| 93 | 38 | 7/10 | 244.73 | Lucknow Super Giants | Jaipur | May 19 |
| 4 | 6 | 0/0 | 66.66 | Mumbai Indians | Mumbai (WS) | May 24 |
| 97 | 29 | 5/12 | 334.48 | Sunrisers Hyderabad | New Chandigarh | May 27 |
| 96 | 47 | 8/7 | 204.25 | Gujarat Titans | New Chandigarh | May 29 |
Vaibhav is the fourth Rajasthan Royals player to win the MVP of the Season award in the IPL. Before him, Shane Watson won the award twice as an RR player in 2008 and 2013, while Jofra Archer won it in 2020 and Jos Buttler in 2022.
Full list of MVP players in IPL history
| YEAR | PLAYER | TEAM | MVP POINTS |
| 2008 | Shane Watson | Rajasthan Royals | – |
| 2009 | Adam Gilchrist | Deccan Chargers | – |
| 2010 | Sachin Tendulkar | Mumbai Indians | – |
| 2011 | Chris Gayle | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | – |
| 2012 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders | – |
| 2013 | Shane Watson | Rajasthan Royals | 386 |
| 2014 | Glenn Maxwell | Punjab Kings | 286 |
| 2015 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders | 312 |
| 2016 | Virat Kohli | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 356.5 |
| 2017 | Ben Stokes | Rising Pune Supergiants | 279 |
| 2018 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders | 379.5 |
| 2019 | Andre Russell | Kolkata Knight Riders | 369 |
| 2020 | Jofra Archer | Rajasthan Royals | 307 |
| 2021 | Harshal Patel | Royal Challengers Bengaluru | 264.5 |
| 2022 | Jos Buttler | Rajasthan Royals | 387 |
| 2023 | Shubman Gill | Gujarat Titans | 343 |
| 2024 | Sunil Narine | Kolkata Knight Riders | 450 |
| 2025 | Suryakumar Yadav | Mumbai Indians | 320.5 |
| 2026 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Rajasthan Royals | 436.5 |
After winning the MVP of the Season award on Sunday, Vaibhav said that it was a proud moment for him and that he was feeling great. He expressed happiness over his superb show in the IPL this year and stated that he would try to do even better next season (in 2027).
“It’s a proud moment, it feels great, and I’ll try to do even better next season,” Vaibhav said.
Maximum impact, maximum maturity 🫡
🗣️ Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after a season to remember ✨ #TATAIPL | #Final | #TheFinalLeap | #RCBvGT pic.twitter.com/PfktHKhQ8B
— IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) May 31, 2026
According to him, he learned a lot about how to play in pressure situations and how to adapt his game according to the situation of the match.
“This season, I learned how to play in pressure situations and how to change my game according to the circumstances. You can’t play every game with the same mindset. You have to read the situation of the game and play according to what the team requires. I learned a lot about that, especially in the playoff games,” Vaibhav said.
