Rajasthan Royals have truly found a new poster boy in the form of Vaibhav Sooryavanshibut the rise of the 15-year-old seems to have made the situation a little tricky for Yashasvi Jaiswalthe team’s poster boy before the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season started. As the new campaign has progressed, Sooryavanshi has gone well ahead of Jaiswal in terms of contributions to the team’s success. In fact, former India all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin feels the 15-year-old’s rise and the hype around his name have played a big role in Jaiswal’s underwhelming show this year.
Ashwin, speaking during a chat on his YouTube channelsaid that he is surprised by the way Jaiswal has played this year for Rajasthan, and feels the blitzkrieg Sooryavanshi has produced from the other end of the pitch as his opening partner has played a role.
“It is slightly underwhelming and I am a bit surprised by Yashasvi Jaiswal’s performance in the Rajasthan Royals team. I am a little surprised because I expected a lot from him; I have high hopes. But I just have a slight inkling of a feeling that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s display has perhaps shaken Jaiswal a bit. It has rattled him,” Ashwin said.
Ashwin went on to compare the Sooryavanshi-Jaiswal situation to that of Virender Sehwag and Akash Chopra in Test cricket for the Indian team.
“If you remember the opening pair of Virender Sehwag and Aakash Chopra in Test matches, Aakash Chopra used to play really well, giving good starts of 30 or 40 runs. But the sheer style and manner in which Virender Sehwag batted used to make Aakash Chopra look almost invisible. Not that he was; Aakash Chopra did a great job on that Australian tour too. But I just have a feeling that because of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s fierce batting here, it has thrown Jaiswal off a little. In many games, Jaiswal got out trying to hit the ball too hard,” he asserted.
“I want to see Yashasvi Jaiswal bat well because he has the ability. But this time, Rajasthan Royals’ story has been about Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, and on the day Jofra Archer was needed, he also stepped up. But all that said, Mumbai Indians have been very, very, very, very underwhelming this season. This score was chaseable,” Ashwin added.
Jaiswal No Longer ‘Most Exciting Batter’
When pressed to go deeper into his analysis of Jaiswal, Ashwin stressed that Jaiswal needs an arm around his shoulders and a little bit of support as he sees the ‘most exciting batter’ tag being taken away from him and given to his opening partner at RR, Sooryavanshi.
“In 2024, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the backup opener when we won the World Cup. Over the last two or three years, what happened? Yashasvi Jaiswal won the Orange Cap for the Rajasthan Royals and had a stellar debut in Test cricket. His record in Test cricket is in a completely different dimension. In ODI cricket, he scored a century in his last match. For the past two or three years, Yashasvi Jaiswal has been India’s most dependable, exciting, and entertaining batsman.
“Now, I am thinking, if a player like Yashasvi Jaiswal comes and plays for India at this age, they operate on a different momentum. Their mind will only focus on how to become excellent, how to break more records, and how to work harder. These things will be on his mind. And whether Yashasvi agrees or not, or whether the players and support staff in the Rajasthan Royals agree or not, Yashasvi Jaiswal was the talk of the town for the “Suddenly, right in front of Rajasthan Royals’ poster boy, there is another poster boy whose ability is turning world cricket upside down,” he stressed.
Seeing the Sooryavanshi factor rattling Jaiswal, Ashwin has nothing but empathy for the India international.
“I mean, we need to give credit to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, but we also need to have empathy for Yashasvi Jaiswal. See, it is not easy. Someone needs to put an arm around Jaiswal’s shoulder and talk to him. I would dearly like that because what must have been going through Yashasvi’s mind before this season? He probably thought, ‘I will consistently score runs, take the Orange Cap, play at a good strike rate, and secure my place back in India’s T20 squad. That must be what was running through his head, right? But Vaibhav Sooryavanshi arrived and almost sidelined everyone else. He is at the forefront of every discussion. It’s not easy. So, I feel there should be some mentorship or a psychologist in the team to help. It is definitely not easy.”
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