Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in IPL 2026 vs Virat Kohli in 2016: Who had a better season?
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi vs Virat Kohli: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 season came to an end last night after a seven-wicket loss to the Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2. Despite what many consider the best individual performance in the history of the IPL, Sooryavanshi could only lead the Rajasthan Royals to the penultimate match of the tournament. When looking at his performance, people have taken a moment to remember Virat Kohli’s performance from a decade ago. Kohli created history by scoring the most runs in a single season of the IPL as he finished with a tally of 973 runs. However, even with his historic record, Kohli did not win the trophy. Here is a look at who had a better performance.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was the best player in the IPL 2026. The left-handed batter scored 776 runs, in spite of facing only 327 balls. He had a strike rate of 237.30, but it was his ability to hit sixes against the best bowlers that attracted all the eyeballs to him. Sooryavanshi struck 72 sixes, the record for hitting the most sixes in a single season. Surprisingly, the left-handed batter struck nine fours less than his tally of sixes in the season.
Hitting four centuries is often considered to be a great IPL career. However, when a batter hits four hundreds in a single season of the Indian Premier League, it shows the level of consistency that remains unmatched. Virat Kohli managed to find an inner beast within himself as he scored a record 973 runs in IPL 2016. The right-handed batter averaged more than 80 in the season and was at his consistent best throughout the season as RCB finished runner-up, losing the trophy to Sunrisers Hyderabad.
| Statistic | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi in 2026 | Virat Kohli in 2016 |
| Matches Played | 16 | 16 |
| Runs | 776 | 973 |
| Strike Rate | 237.3 | 152.03 |
| Average | 48.5 | 81.08 |
| Highest Score | 103 | 113 |
| 50s | 5 | 7 |
| 100s | 1 | 4 |
| Fours | 63 | 83 |
| Sixes | 72 | 38 |
Despite Virat Kohli ruling the roost in most statistics, it is Vaibhav Sooryavanshi who had a slightly better season in the IPL. While Kohli scored more runs at a better average, the 15-year-old did something that certainly looks unimaginable and might never be repeated. While Kohli struck 20 more fours than the teenager, the RR batter struck almost twice as many the amount of sixes as Kohli smashed. The difference in the strike rate between the two was 85 points. While the RCB batter made it to the final, it is equally important to note he had support from two of the best batters in the shortest format, Chris Gayle and AB de Villiers. However, Sooryavanshi, despite his young age, carried his team’s batting. Additionally, Kohli played most of his games at the Chinnaswamy Stadium, which has historically been the best ground for the batters in the history of the IPL.
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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