Virat Kohli had a special message for teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi after the IPL 2026 final, backing the youngster to scale even greater heights and urging him to stay focused despite the growing spotlight around him.
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru star was seen sharing a warm conversation with the 15-year-old Rajasthan Royals prodigy following RCB’s title-winning victory over Gujarat Titans at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Sunday. While the interaction quickly went viral on social media, RCB has now revealed what Kohli told the youngster.
Praising Sooryavanshi’s hard work, self-belief and record-breaking season, Kohli advised him to ignore outside opinions and concentrate solely on improving his game.
“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 pe bhari,” Kohli told Sooryavanshi.
The best piece of advice the 15-year old Vaibhav Suryavanshi could get! And who better than Virat Kohli to help fuel his fire in the right direction.… pic.twitter.com/MUqCRBo0la
— Royal Challengers Bengaluru (@RCBTweets) June 3, 2026
The words from one of India’s modern-day greats came after a remarkable campaign in which Sooryavanshi emerged as the biggest breakthrough star of IPL 2026 despite Rajasthan Royals falling short of the title.
Also Read: ‘Young players pushing you to change your game,’ says Virat Kohli after RCB’s historic title win
Earlier in the IPL 2026 season, Kohli had given Sooryavanshi an autograph and signed his cap after the left-handed batter smashed the RCB bowlers all around the park in the contest at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati.
While Royal Challengers Bengaluru retained the IPL crown with a five-wicket victory over the Gujarat Titans, Sooryavanshi emerged as the undisputed individual performer of the season, collecting five awards at the post-match presentation ceremony.
Also read: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scripts history, sweeps five major awards at IPL 2026 season
The teenager finished as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 776 runs to secure the Orange Cap and was named the Most Valuable Player as well as the Emerging Player of the Season.
He also claimed the Super Striker award after maintaining a remarkable strike rate of 237.31 and won the Super Sixes award by smashing a record 72 sixes during the campaign.