Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Shahid Afridi in frame. Image Credit: ANI
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi – Shahid Afridi: Thanks to his exploits in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has taken the cricketing world by storm. The left-handed batter, opening the innings for the Rajasthan Royals, currently leads the charts for scoring the most runs in IPL 2026. While fans in India and around the world have drawn comparisons to legendary players, the most common comparison has been with Sachin Tendulkar. However, across the border, Mohammad Yousaf compared the 15-year-old batter with Pakistan’s Shahid Afridi. Yousaf was brutally trolled for his viral statement.
15-year-old cricket sensation #Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reminds me of @SAfridiofficial young, fearless, explosive, full of energy. The future is here! 🔥🏏 #Cricket #IPL2026
— Mohammad Yousaf (@yousaf1788) May 28, 2026
Besides India, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s brilliant batting performances are attracting attention in countries like Australia and England as well. Vaibhav played a phenomenal innings of 97 runs off merely 29 balls for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2026, and it seems like playing India on the international stage is just a matter of time for him. Mohammad Yousuf, ex-Pakistan skipper, besides watching the teenager batting star even commenting after the elimination match with Sunrisers Hyderabad. On May 28 Thursday Yousuf, who was judged one of the finest hitters of the 2000s, took to X to compliment Vaibhav and said the young lad gave him a flash of a young Shahid Afridi. In his tweet, Yousaf said, “15-year-old cricket sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi reminds me of Shahid Afridi young, fearless, explosive, full of energy. The future is here!”
Hmmm.. getting compared to a bottom tier slogger.. this is perhaps the biggest insult to Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the lowest point of his life. And I’m happy it has come so early in his career. I’m sure he’ll get over it soon, and after this, nothing negative will ever affect him…
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) May 28, 2026
There were plenty of reactions below Mohammad Yousaf’s tweet, where he compared the 15-year-old IPL 2026 star to Shahid Afridi. Sooryavanshi, who currently has scored 680 runs, leads the run-scoring charts in IPL 2026 while boasting a strike rate of close to 250.
Sooryavanshi is actually 15, unlike that age-fraud.
— Rahul Landpakad (@cskfap) May 28, 2026
the only difference is that vaibhav suryavanshi will not be 15 year old for next 15 years unlike shahid afridi🤣🤣
— Kana (@Kanatunga) May 28, 2026
People called out Yousaf for comparing the two cricketers due to the age-fraud allegations on Shahid Afridi.
Chacha bas kar de, Afridi was a mediocre cricketer. Stop comparing the world’s best talent sooryavanshi with the lapeda afridi.
— Cricglobal!! (@IamGlobalsoul) May 28, 2026
Fans talked about how Sooryavanshi is better than Afridi, who was a mediocre cricketer.
I hope Sooryavanshi does not end up tampering the pitch and ball. Also, it will be so bad to see him get out pinch hitting every game.
— Mudit Jain (@DecodeCIVILS) May 28, 2026
Boss, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is not a blind slogger like Afridi. pic.twitter.com/mXovrNBayV
— Sanjeev । సంజీవ్ 🇮🇳 (@sanjusayz) May 28, 2026
People on X (formerly Twitter) recalled how Afridi was caught ball-tampering and wished something like that would not be done by the 15-year-old star batter.
why are you disrespecting Vaibhav Sooryavanshi here? what has he done wrong?
— sssshhhhreyansh (@itsshreyanshh) May 28, 2026
Social media users claimed that it was disrespectful to the Rajasthan Royals batter that he was compared to Afridi.
Also Read: Hardik Pandya MI Captaincy Rumours: Is Mumbai Indians Planning a Leadership Change After IPL 2026?
Pragun is a passionate cricket follower and writer who deeply loves the game. Having completed his education with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he has an experience of almost two years in diverse fields. He is known for his statistical and analytical articles. Pragun tries to bring life to his articles by adding a layer of enthusiasm from the perspective of a hardcore fan. Apart from writing cricket articles, he sometimes appears on YouTube videos on a friend’s podcast.
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