IPL 2026 has been an event filled with plenty of memorable instances, however few have garnered more attention than the tale of the meteoric rise of the 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The teenager has astonished cricket fans and experts alike with his fearless approach to batting this season, and the player has now attracted praise from the former Australia skipper and Lucknow Super Giants head coach Justin Langer. Langer decided to share a hilarious anecdote from his life after Vaibhav’s sensational exploits this season, and it subsequently went viral on social media. Langer revealed that he himself had requested a selfie from Vaibhav during the IPL season – something that the former Aussie opener claimed he had only done twice in his entire life. The incident took place when Rajasthan Royals trumped Lucknow Super Giants in a league stage game. In the chase, Vaibhav smashed an astounding 93 runs off just 38 balls, leaving the LSG bowlers shell-shocked. Even as the teenager was occupied with a post-match interview, Langer was seen walking over to him for a quick snap. Langer's Hilarious Admission Goes Viral In an online post, Langer further stated the reason behind him feeling privileged for this incident to have taken place. "Last week I did something I have only done twice in my life. I asked another athlete for a selfie," he wrote. "The first time was for my childhood AFL hero, South Fremantle's Stephen Michael. The second was a 15-year-old boy from a village in Bihar." A SPECIAL POST BY JUSTIN LANGER ON VAIBHAV SOORYAVANSHI ❤️😍 pic.twitter.com/g6ZhJVXSDr — Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) May 28, 2026 Langer went on to confess that after more than 35 years in professional cricket, he still struggled to grasp the immense talent and confidence possessed by the 15-year-old, as he could not understand how the latter was playing such bold cricket on the highest stage possible. The Aussie coach lauded Vaibhav for his phenomenal power-hitting capabilities and the composure that the teenager showcased under pressure. Also Read | Breaking: Rishabh Pant resign from LSG captaincy! Franchise aims to rebuilt after shattering IPL 2026 The Debate of Talent Following Langer's remarks, the debate about what actually constitutes talent in the game has quickly sparked up. For former Australian coach, talent not only comprised the player's skills, but also their mental strengths and abilities in difficult situations. In order to illustrate his point, Langer then went on to compare Vaibhav's successful campaign with one of the most successful AFL stars in Australia, Scott Pendlebury who recently broke the record for most career appearances in the game at 433 appearances for his recent 38 th birthday and matches played. Langer argued that the two individuals were in a way both representing a different aspect of talent-the first a combination of natural talent and the second a demonstration of consistency built up through the years of sweat. He went on to conclude the post with the question that ignited the internet: 'Which aspect of talent impresses you more, the gift, or the craft?'. Vaibhav's Record-Breaking IPL 2026 The young batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, has lived up to all the accolades and has already broken numerous records in the ongoing edition of the IPL, at a tender age of 15 years. His tally of 65 sixes in the current season already surpasssed Chris Gayle's previously held record of most sixes in an IPL season. He has also managed to go past David Warner's total of most powerplay runs in a single IPL season by a margin of 490 runs. With his recent record, Rajasthan Royals batter has become the first player to ever score over 600 runs in a single T20 tournament with a strike rate of 240+ and has already become the youngest player to notch a century in a men's professional T20 match prior to this season. Rajasthan Royals prepare to face Gujarat Titans in Qualifier 2 and the attention will yet again be diverted to the teenage wonder who has become the main headline in IPL 2026.