Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been on a record-breaking/setting spree over the last year or so and, as he prepares for his second IPL season, expectations are sky-high from the 15-year-old boy wonder. While the jury is still out on whether he can overcome the second-season blues – with teams better prepared to tackle his savagery with the bat – Sooryavanshi is not one to back down or get bogged down. He showed glimpses last season that he can hang with the best in the IPL, scoring 252 runs in seven matches, including a century and a fifty, at a strike rate of 206.56. So, what can we expect from Sooryavanshi in his first full season? A lot – plus these five iconic IPL records, which were once thought unbeatable, could very well fall to the 15-year-old teenager.
Highest individual score – 175 (Chris Gayle)*
The highest individual score in the IPL belongs to the iconic Chris Gayle, when he unleashed a literal hailstorm – or ‘Gaylestorm’, if you want to put it that way – at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, against a hapless Pune Warriors bowling attack with a sensational 175 not out off just 66 deliveries in the 2013 edition. Clobbering 13 fours and 17 sixes, it was a tour de force innings that has not been seen since, and many believe this is one record that could stand the test of time.But with Vaibhav Sooryavanshi smashing all kinds of records left, right and centre, is that Gayle record finally in danger? It could very well be. Sooryavanshi has a penchant for going really, really big when he gets in. Sample this:His highest score in Youth T20s is 144 off just 42 balls – and he got out in the 15th over. His highest score in Youth ODIs is 175 off 80 balls in the final of the 2026 Under-19 World Cup – and he got out in the 26th over. His next-best 171 came in the Under-19 Asia Cup off just 95 balls, and once again he got out in the 33rd over. And he smashed 190 off 84 balls in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, getting out in the 27th over. Need any proof that this breakout beast can bring down Chris Gayle’s unrivalled record of the highest individual score in the IPL?
Most sixes in an innings – 17 (Chris Gayle)
Again, the record belongs to Gayle, courtesy the aforementioned innings. Seventeen sixes in a team’s T20 innings itself is an insane feat, but to clobber that all alone is once again beyond comparison. Then again, records are meant to be broken, and if there is someone who can eclipse the Great Gayle, it is the savage Sooryavanshi.Back to the samples: Sooryavanshi hit 15 sixes during his 144-run knock in the Youth T20 game, and again 15 in the Under-19 World Cup final, and 15 more in that innings of 190 in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. It should be a fair bet, then, that Sooryavanshi can go three better this IPL.
Most sixes in an edition – 59 (Chris Gayle)
And if we are betting on Sooryavanshi to break the record for most sixes in an innings, let’s take it one notch further and extend that to the most sixes in an IPL season as well. The record, not surprisingly, is held by Gayle, who smoked 59 sixes in the 2012 edition. Andre Russell managed 52 for KKR in the 2019 edition. Only two players have managed to hit more than 50 sixes in a single edition, with Gayle managing it twice (51 in the 2013 season).In his inaugural season, Sooryavanshi clobbered 24 sixes in seven games. So, if he gets a full season of 14 matches, it would be modest to expect him to hit 50 sixes if he gets going.
Highest strike rate in a season – 234.34 (Jake Fraser-McGurk)
Now, this will be a tricky record to break down and would need some kind of a parameter. Taking into consideration that Vaibhav Sooryavanshi plays all 14 games or close to it, and manages to face at least 10 balls each game, we put the marker at a minimum of 100 balls in a season to determine the best strike rate.Going by this, Jake Fraser-McGurk’s whirlwind 2024 season tops the list, with a strike rate of 234.34 in nine matches having faced 141 deliveries in total. And why do we think Sooryavanshi can eclipse this? Well, last season Sooryavanshi came close. He finished with a strike rate of 206.55 in the seven matches he played facing 122 deliveries. So if he has a windfall season this time around, Sooryavanshi has a real possibility to top the charts when it comes to strike rates as well – but the rider here is the considerable number of balls faced.
Six sixes in an over
And finally, a record we have seen set in first-class cricket, List A and T20s – barring the IPL: six sixes in an over. The best in the IPL is five sixes in an over, witnessed five times. Gayle was the first to do it in 2012, hitting Rahul Sharma of Pune Warriors for five sixes. Rahul Tewatia entered IPL folklore by clobbering West Indies international Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in 2020, and Ravindra Jadeja repeated the feat in 2021 against RCB’s Harshal Patel – with a four as well – equalling the most runs scored in an over.Rinku Singh then produced the most thrilling finish ever in IPL history, hitting Yash Dayal for five sixes in the final over to win the match for KKR, and in 2025, Riyan Parag smoked five sixes off KKR’s Moeen Ali. Will Sooryavanshi – not just add his name to this list – but complete the set with six sixes in an over – the first ever in the IPL?
