Batting great Sachin Tendulkar has hailed 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's influence on IPL 2026, saying the Rajasthan Royals opener shaped match outcomes far beyond the runs he scored. In a reflective post on Reddit, Tendulkar also proposed a structural rule change — splitting the powerplay — based on how the season's contests unfolded.

Sooryavanshi's outsized influence

The teenager finished as the tournament's top run-scorer, but Tendulkar argued his real value lay in the gravitational pull he exerted on opposition planning. ‘Vaibhav Sooryavanshi had an influence on games that went beyond the runs he scored. Oppositions were thinking about him, teams were planning for him, and fans were waiting for him long before he arrived at the crease,' Tendulkar wrote.

The former India skipper was particularly struck by the youngster's playoff temperament. ‘His ability to score quickly in the Eliminator and Qualifier proved his intent was always the same, even as the stakes were high. Even more importantly, his batting seemed to give Rajasthan Royals an added sense of belief every time he walked out to the middle,' he said.

The Hazlewood-Buttler moment

Tendulkar singled out Josh Hazlewood's dismissal of Jos Buttler in the 5th over of the 1st Qualifier between RCB and RR as a masterclass in bowler awareness. ‘Buttler had hit deliveries for a 4, 6, and a 4, and once a batter settles into a rhythm like that, he often tends to commit early,' he noted, adding that Hazlewood ‘subtly slowed down the next delivery by 10 km/hr, and Buttler had already gone through his shot by the time the ball reached him.'

RCB's identity and Patidar's leadership

On eventual champions RCB, Tendulkar credited a culture of shared responsibility under captain Rajat Patidar. ‘Rajat Patidar led from the front right through, but more importantly, he helped create an environment where others could do the same,' he said, calling the balance between leadership and contribution central to RCB's title run.

The powerplay rethink

Observing that many games turned between overs 7 and 15, Tendulkar suggested splitting the powerplay to inject fresh strategy. ‘I feel the Power-play needs to be split into two parts. First 4 overs as the batting Power-play and two overs of bowling Power-play, which could be utilised at any point in the innings,' he wrote, arguing it ‘could become the most strategic phase of T20 cricket.'

Punjab's spirit, Gujarat's consistency

Tendulkar praised Punjab Kings for ‘positive, brave, and at times game-changing' cricket, while highlighting the lesson of staying process-focused through a long tournament. He also flagged Gujarat Titans' ability to ‘operate in a very limited performance band' across the season — avoiding extremes in a format that punishes volatility.

Closing his reflection, the batting maestro underlined adaptation as the season's defining theme. ‘The teams responded, adjusted, and new strategies were developed as the competition grew. The game is all about continuous development, and that's what makes watching it so compelling,' he wrote — a note that frames the next IPL cycle around evolution rather than dominance.