Young cricketer Vaibhav Suryavanshi aims to break Chris Gayle’s IPL record of 175 runs. He has scored 175 runs in the U-19 World Cup and a century in 35 balls in the IPL. He will play for Rajasthan in 2026.
In BCCI’s Naman Awards, Harsha Bhogle presented three options to Vaibhav Suryavanshi. First, six sixes in an over. Second, breaking Chris Gayle’s record of 175 runs. And thirdly, the fastest century in IPL. Like his batting, Vaibhav did not spend much time thinking. As soon as the ball crossed the boundary, the answer came – Chris Gayle’s record has to be broken.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi fixed the target of IPL 2026
That innings of Universe Boss which no one could forget. That Caribbean storm against Pune Warriors, when 175 runs were scored in 66 balls and 154 runs came only from fours and sixes. Big legends of T20 cricket have come and gone, but no one has been able to break this record till date. Abhishek Sharma came close to this, but he also lagged behind Brendon McCullum.
So will Suryavanshi be able to do this? Instead of doubting this question, one has to believe it after seeing his exploits. The wonders this boy has done on the field since the 2025 IPL are astonishing. The most recent example is the final of the Under-19 ODI World Cup. Do you remember what happened in the final? Vaibhav ended his innings against England on the same score that Chris Gayle had scored in 2013 – 175 runs.
175 runs in just 80 balls, which included 15 fours and 15 sixes. And it has to be remembered that this score was made by a 14 year old boy. Earlier, he had scored 190 runs in 84 balls against Arunachal Pradesh in Vijay Hazare Trophy. There were 16 fours and 15 sixes in that innings, and the strike rate was 226. With this he became the youngest player to score a century in List-A cricket.
Statistics of some record breaking innings of Vaibhav Suryavanshi…
Before Vijay Hazare, Syed Mushtaq Ali had scored a century in 58 balls against a strong team like Maharashtra in the T20 tournament. He scored 108 runs in 61 balls with the help of 7 fours and 7 sixes. His style was no different in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament also. Scored 144 runs in 42 balls against UAE, which included 11 fours and 15 sixes. The strike rate was 342.8 and the century was completed in just 32 balls, which is the third fastest century by any Indian.
Yes, it can be assumed that the level of bowling in these tournaments was not as high as it is in international cricket. That’s why some people also raise questions on these shifts of glory. But then comes the IPL, the tournament which gave Vaibhav his real identity. Remember that innings of a century in 35 balls against Gujarat?
This was the second fastest century in IPL history, only behind Chris Gayle. And look at the list of bowlers who were beaten – Rashid Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Karim Janat and Ishant Sharma. Except Ishant, everyone else is still a big name in international cricket. And the interesting thing is that there was no bowler in that match whom Vaibhav did not hit a six.
Ishant and Karim Janat had hit three sixes each. Sundar got two balls and everyone else got one ball in the stands. And all this happened when Vaibhav was just over 14 years old. He scored centuries in all the white-ball tournaments he played, that too without giving any respect to the bowlers. His strike rate in List-A is 164 and in T20 it is above 200. In his first IPL itself, Vaibhav had shown that he has no mercy on the bowlers. Now he is coming into the 2026 season with even more experience. This time he will play the entire season in Rajasthan jersey. It remains to be seen which records will be broken. He has already announced one. If he breaks Gayle’s record, Team India’s blue jersey will not be far away.