If any young player has made the most headlines in IPL 2026, it is Rajasthan Royals’ explosive batsman Vaibhav Suryavanshi. With his fearless style and stormy batting, this young batsman kept the bowlers awake throughout the season. Now Vaibhav has been given a place in the best eleven of the former Chennai cricketer. Former Indian cricketer and former Chennai Super Kings star batsman Subramaniam Badrinath has included Vaibhav Suryavanshi in his best playing XI of IPL 2026 after the end of the league stage, while leaving out stalwarts like Virat Kohli and KL Rahul.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi made a special place
Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who made his debut last season, took his game to a completely different level this year. While opening for Rajasthan Royals, he played consecutive match-winning innings and emerged as the backbone of the team’s batting. Vaibhav scored 583 runs in 14 matches. During this period, his average was 41.64 and strike rate was 232.27, which makes him one of the most dangerous batsmen of this season. He also scored a century and three half-centuries, while his highest score was 103 runs.
Young star overshadows Virat-Rahul
The most talked about thing is Badrinath’s decision in which he did not include Virat Kohli and KL Rahul, who scored more than 500 runs, in his best XI. Badrinath chose Vaibhav Suryavanshi for the opening along with Gujarat Titans captain Shubman Gill. Gill scored 616 runs this season and took his team to second place in the points table. At the same time, he placed Sai Sudarshan, who was leading in the race for Orange Cap, at number-3, which makes the top order of his team look very strong.
These players got place in the middle order
Explosive batsman Heinrich Klaasen and RCB captain Rajat Patidar have been included in Badrinath’s best XI. Both the batsmen have performed brilliantly against spin bowling this season. Krunal Pandya got a place as an all-rounder, while experienced Sunil Narine was selected as a specialist spinner. In the bowling department, Badrinath has selected experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Joffra Archer and Kagiso Rabada. However, the most surprising decision was to give a chance to young fast bowlers Prince Yadav and Karthik Tyagi. Both the young bowlers made a special mark this season with their speed and aggressive bowling. Even though his teams could not reach the playoffs, his performance caught everyone’s attention.
Subramaniam Badrinath’s IPL 2026 Best XI: Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Shubhman Gill, Sai Sudarshan, Heinrich Klaasen, Rajat Patidar, Krunal Pandya, Sunil Narine, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Joffra Archer, Kagiso Rabada, Prince Yadav/Karthik Tyagi.
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SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
