‘Just focus on your bat’: Virat Kohli’s priceless advice to 15-year-old MVP Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

RCB icon praises 15-year-old Orange Cap winner Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

Ahmedabad: India’s talismanic batter Virat Kohli had a special word of advice for teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the IPL 2026 final, urging the youngster to stay grounded, focus on his game, and continue striving for greater heights following a record-breaking season.

Following Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s second consecutive title triumph at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday, a clip of the interaction between the RCB stalwart and the 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals prodigy immediately went viral. The audio of their conversation has now been officially revealed by the franchise in a video posted on their social media handles.

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During the meetup, Kohli praised Sooryavanshi’s work ethic and innate self-belief while reminding him to block out external noise. The former RCB captain also advised the youngster to keep raising his benchmarks.

“You have to keep going higher from here. Whatever you’ve achieved is the result of your hard work and belief. Don’t pay attention to who is saying what. Just focus on your batting and yourself. Ek Bihari sab par bhari,” Kohli told Sooryavanshi.

The words of encouragement from one of cricket’s modern greats capped off a tournament where Sooryavanshi established himself as the ultimate breakout star, despite Rajasthan Royals missing out on the title.

Earlier in the season, Kohli had famously presented Sooryavanshi with an autographed cap after the left-handed prodigy dismantled the RCB bowling attack at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.

While Royal Challengers Bengaluru ultimately retained their IPL crown with a five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans, Sooryavanshi dominated the post-match presentation ceremony by sweeping a remarkable five individual awards.

The 15-year-old finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, amassing 776 runs to claim the coveted Orange Cap. His historic exploit also earned him the Most Valuable Player (MVP) and Emerging Player of the Season awards.

Additionally, the teenager walked away with the Super Striker award for maintaining a staggering strike rate of 237.31 and clinched the Super Sixes award after clearing the boundary a record 72 times during the campaign.