‘Well played, young man’ — Virat Kohli's first words to 15-year-old IPL 2026 Orange Cap winner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi got a special blessing when Virat Kohli put his arms around the 15-year-old's shoulder moments after Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) defended their Indian Premier League (IPL) title, beating Gujarat Titans by five wickets at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday.

Although Rajasthan Royals exited the tournament in Qualifier 2, Sooryavanshi was present in Ahmedabad to collect as many as five awards, including the Orange Cap. With 776 runs at a strike rate of over 200, Sooryavanshi left behind the likes of Kohli, Shubman Gill and others to become the youngest Orange Cap winner at 15 years and 65 days.

While Kohli's meeting with Sooryavanshi went viral on social media, the actual conversation came to light a day after when IPL official handles shared the video across platforms. Sooryavanshi was initially having a chat with RCB's Phil Salt when Kohli came towards him.

He greeted Kohli with folded hands. "Well played, young man," was Kohli's first words to Sooryavanshi. While the IPL social media muted the rest of the conversation in the video with a musical tune, what followed for Sooryavanshi was a Kohli masterclass as the Rajasthan Royals opener diligently listened like a student to what the former Indian captain said.

Going by Kohli's body movements, the RCB talisman advised Sooryavanshi to stay focused in his game. Besides his Orange Cap, Sooryavanshi was named the Most Valuable Player, Emerging Player of the Season, Super Striker of the Season, and also the award for most sixes. Sooryavanshi hit 72 sixes, surpassing West Indian Chris Gayle's previous IPL record of a maximum number of sixes (59) in a season.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi sets sights on Test cricket

Having mastered his T20 game, Sooryavanshi's next target is playing red-ball cricket with equal success. As compared to his 34 T20s, the southpaw has so far played just eight first-class games from January 2024 to November 2025, scoring 207 runs at an average of 17.25.

“I want to play Test cricket, obviously, because my father also taught me that it is the ultimate format, and I have played it as well. I’m yet to play many games, though. I played Ranji Trophy cricket but did not get too many opportunities, and it was challenging for me. But I am going to keep working on that aspect of my game,” Sooryavanshi told Star Sports.

Not to forget, Sooryavanshi has already two hundreds in Youth Tests. In the U19 World Cup final against England earlier in 2026, Sooryavanshi clobbered 80-ball 175 in the summit clash, powering India to a 411/9 in 50 overs. India won the game by 100 runs.

Catch the live updates from IPL 2026 with the complete IPL 2026 Schedule and the IPL 2026 Points Table. Also, know who are currently leading the charts in IPL 2026 Orange Cap and IPL 2026 Purple Cap.