Fact Check: Did Vaibhav Sooryavanshi claim hitting Jasprit Bumrah for a six first ball as goal for IPL 2026?

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been the single biggest talking point in the 19th season of the Indian Premier League that concluded on Sunday with Royal Challengers Bengaluru winning their second consecutive title.

The opening batter from Bihar had first made headlines when he had been bought by Rajasthan Royals for Rs 1.1 crore at the mega auction in November 2024 at the tender age of 13. That was followed by the extraordinary feat of smashing a 35-ball century against Gujarat Titans in just his third IPL appearance.

And in just his second season, Sooryavanshi not only finished as the leading run-scorer with 776 runs, he also broke multiple records along the way and swept the awards distributed after the IPL final between RCB and Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad.

It is only natural for Sooryavanshi to be the single biggest topic of discussion among cricket experts and other followers on social media, and for the batting sensation to be the focus of thousands of reels, memes, etc.

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One such clip that is doing the rounds on social media these days is that of the teenager being interviewed by veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle at the BCCI's Naman Awards in New Delhi in March, shortly before the IPL season got underway.

Sooryavanshi was asked about his goals in IPL 2026, to which the youngster replied that he intended to smash Jasprit Bumrah for a six in the very first delivery that he would face from the India and Mumbai Indians fast-bowling great.

"Sir iss baar yahi goal hai ki Bumrah ko pehli ball pe chakka maarna hai (Sir, my goal is to hit Bumrah for a six in the first ball)," Sooryavanshi said in the clip.

Bhogle calls out Sooryavanshi clip as fake

Social media, however, is also a major source of misinformation thanks to the presence of thousands of doctored clips and misleading posts. And Bhogle was quick to call the viral Sooryavanshi clip out as fake, posting a clarification on his social media accounts.

"There is a fake dubbed clip of me and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi doing the rounds on social media. It depicts Vaibhav as being rude and cocky. Neither was that question asked nor was there an answer like that. It is cruel and mischievous especially towards a young kid who has been very respectful in his few interactions," Bhogle wrote in a post on X on Tuesday.

Turns out, Sooryavanshi had not mentioned Bumrah in his actual response. Seated alongside MI captain Hardik Pandya as well as Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma, Sooryavanshi said he wanted to win the trophy for the Royals and spoke about how he had been practising hard and how his teammates were confident entering the season.

"Sir iss baar yahi goal hai ki trophy jeetna hai team ke liye aur sab practice bhi kaafi achcha chal raha hai aur kaafi sab confidence mein lag rahe hain. Toh hopefully iss baar trophy hum log jeetenge (The goal is to win the trophy for the team. Practice has been going well and everyone’s looking confident. Hopefully we lift the trophy this time),” Sooryavanshi had said at the event that took place right after India’s successful defence of their T20 World Cup title.

How Sooryavanshi vs Bumrah battle had played out this season

Sooryavanshi, however, did win his duel against Bumrah when Rajasthan Royals had hosted Mumbai Indians at Guwahati's Barsapara Stadium in 7 April. Bowling the second over of the rain-curtailed game that was reduced to 11 overs-a-side, Bumrah missed his length and was promptly smashed over wide long on for a six by the teen sensation.

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That was followed by another maximum three balls later, Sooryavanshi picking a slower short delivery this time and pulling it behind square leg.

While MI had finished ninth on the table at the end of the league stage, RR made a last-minute entry into the playoffs, beating Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Eliminator before losing to Gujarat Titans  in Qualifier 2.