The conversation around Rajasthan Royals' teen prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took an unusual turn after a viral remark from a Pakistani cricket analyst suggested the 15-year-old might have an “AI chip” installed in him.
The comment came from Nauman Niaz who expressed disbelief at the power and range Sooryavanshi has displayed against top-level bowlers, joking that the youngster should be “tested in a lab.”
"What is that boy! Like WADA does doping checks, he should be sent to some lab, he probably has some AI chip installed in him. He's absolutely unreal, man. I mean, I'm having such high hopes. What a player he is," Niaz said in a video.
He continued with a tongue-in-cheek critique of Sooryavanshi's knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad, "I think he played a little slow (against SRH), should've had a strike-rate of 300." Sooryavanshi scored his second IPL century in that knock, getting to the three-figure mark in just 36 deliveries and finishing with a strike-rate of 278.37.
Niaz went on to add a broader point about physical development in teenage athletes.
“Okay, so medically, when you are 18 years old, your entire body starts to shape. Your shoulders become round, muscles are formed, triceps, biceps, and your core is strong because you have peak surge, hormone, testosterone," Niaz said, highlighting how much more Sooryavanshi can develop in the coming years.
The clip quickly gained traction, feeding into the buzz created around one of the IPL's fastest-rising stars with users taking to Twitter to slam Niaz for his comments. Sooryavanshi, however, chose humour over confrontation.
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In a video shared by Rajasthan Royals, the youngster delivered a composed, tongue-in-cheek reply.
“Bhagwan ne laga ke diya hai. Upar hi bola tha ki bat mein tumhare kuch laga ke de raha hoon. Ussi ka istemaal kar raha hoon.” (“God has installed it. He told me from above that He is putting something in my bat. I am just using that.”)
The response, rooted in faith and wit, has struck a chord with fans, reframing the narrative around his performances as a product of natural ability or, as he put it, a “God-gift”.
All the hype around Sooryavanshi is underpinned by extraordinary numbers. The RR opener became the youngest player in IPL history in 2025, debuting at 14 years and 23 days, and announcing himself by hitting his first ball for six.
In the same season, he registered a 37-ball century against Gujarat Titans, the fastest hundred by a teenager in the tournament.
In the current IPL 2026 season, he has gone to another level. In nine matches the teenager from Bihar has accumulated 400 runs coming at a strike-rate of 238.09. He became the youngest and fastest player to reach the 400-run mark in a single season by balls faced.
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The Orange Cap holder has 400 runs from 167 balls, going past the previous record of 188 balls set by Andre Russell during the 2019 season.
In the ongoing season, he has also bettered his own record of fastest IPL century by a teenager with his 36-ball ton against SRH, the third-fastest in IPL history. During that knock he also set a record as the fastest and youngest player to get to 1,000 T20 runs, doing so in just 473 balls.
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