Indian Premier League analysis: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi dazzles and mixed fortunes for England cohort

The Indian Premier League is approaching the end of its third week as the league table begins to take shape, with early fixtures delivering high-octane action, drama and plenty of talking points.

Holders Royal Challengers Bengaluru have made an impressive start to their title defence, aiming to become the third franchise to go back-to-back, whilst last year’s runners-up, Punjab Kings, currently sit top of the standings as they look to go one better and secure a first IPL crown.

Games continue to come thick and fast for the next month, with teams jostling for points and momentum as the campaign begins to heat up.

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Vaibhav powers Rajasthan into contention

It is the 2025 finalists leading the way again, with Punjab Kings the only side yet to taste defeat.

Keeping the early pace alongside is perhaps a surprise contender in Rajasthan Royals, who won their first four before being defeated by Sunrisers Hyderabad last time out.

The inaugural champions back in 2008 are under the leadership of Sri Lanka legend Kumar Sangakkara, but performances on the field have been spearheaded by teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

The fearless 15-year-old has smashed two half-centuries in his 200 runs across five innings, at a staggering strike rate of 263.15, including a 15-ball half-century in their win over RCB.

Sooryavanshi burst onto the scene in the IPL last year and stole the headlines with a blistering match-winning 180 in the Under-19 World Cup final, showing no signs of being fazed by the biggest stage and forging a destructive partnership at the top of the order with Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Punjab Kings finished ninth in 2024 and went on to top the standings a year later – Rajasthan Royals were ninth twelve months ago and will be eyeing a similar fate.

No reward for Bumrah as Mumbai start slow again

At the other end of the table, it has been a hugely underwhelming start for pre-tournament favourites Mumbai Indians, who have only won one of their opening five games.

Interestingly, they found themselves in the exact same position in the 2025 campaign but went on to rattle off six straight wins on their way to securing a play-off spot.

MI successfully chased 221 in their opener and also made 222 in a losing cause, though it is wickets that have been hard to come by for the bowlers in failing to take more than four in an innings so far.

Not many would have predicted Jasprit Bumrah to go wicketless in his first five games, even in a tournament dominated by the batters, but the India star quick currently has combined figures of 0-164 from 19 overs – admittedly still a respectable economy rate given their team’s economy rate is above 11.

Bumrah was the leading wicket-taker in India’s T20 World Cup triumph and needs 17 this campaign to become just the third bowler to reach 200 wickets in the IPL.

Price tag weighs heavily on Green

Kolkata Knight Riders sit at the bottom of the table and are yet to register a win in their opening five games, despite dominating the headlines at the auction when they made Australian Cameron Green the most expensive overseas player in IPL history (25.2 crore/£2.1 million).

It has been a very quiet start for the 26-year-old, scoring just 56 runs in five innings, which is two fewer than the number of runs he has conceded in his four overs bowled for one wicket as he steps up his return to all-rounder status.

Green failed to make an impact in the Ashes series and T20 World Cup, whilst there appears to be a lack of clarity around his best position in the batting order – he was bowled first ball by Noor Ahmad down at No.6 in their previous outing, and there is mounting pressure to deliver with Kiwi destructive opener Tim Seifert waiting in the wings.

Mixed fortunes for IPL’s most expensive overseas signings

There have been mixed success for the highest-paid overseas players over recent editions:

• Mitchell Starc (KKR – 2024): A quiet league phase for the Australia left-arm quick who peaked in the play-offs with two Player-of-the-Match displays to help KKR seal the title.
• Pat Cummins (SRH – 2024): Another Australian who commanded a large fee, leading SRH to their first final since 2018 and claiming 18 wickets in the process.
• Sam Curran (Punjab Kings – 2023): A record-breaking price off the back of his 2022 T20 World Cup performances but the England all-rounder did not quite live up to expectations with 276 runs (SR 135) and ten wickets (Econ 10.22).
• Cameron Green (Mumbai Indians – 2023): Green was previously a highly sought-after signature and enjoyed a superb first IPL tournament, averaging 50 at a strike rate of 160 with a maiden T20 century.
• Chris Morris (Rajasthan Royals – 2021): Eyebrows were raised when the experienced South Africa seamer became the most expensive player in IPL history, going on to have a varied tournament with 15 wickets.

Buttler finds form

A lot of eyes were on Jos Buttler heading into the tournament after the former England white-ball captain endured a miserable T20 World Cup campaign with just 87 runs in eight innings, which raised questions around his international future.

Buttler has averaged 18 for England in 14 matches since the turn of the year, including a run of five consecutive single-figure scores during the World Cup, though he has made a bright start to his second season with Gujarat Titans as he looks to rediscover his usual high standards.

The 35-year-old has made crucial fifties in his last two games to kickstart Gujarat’s campaign, scoring at a much more fluent rate than we have been accustomed to over the years.

Buttler has been a consistent performer in the IPL since his debut in 2016 with 4,296 runs in total and only Virat Kohli has made more than his seven centuries.

Elsewhere, finding consistency is the key for Phil Salt with three single-figure scores mixed with two strong contributions for RCB, whilst Jamie Overton has demonstrated his hitting ability in the lower order for Chennai Super Kings and also produced match-winning figures of 4-18 against Delhi Capitals.

Jofra Archer is among the early leading wicket-takers with 7 scalps – including first ball dismissals of destructive batters Salt and Abhishek Sharma – at an average of 20.57 and highly respectable economy rate of 8.47 for Rajasthan Royals.

Other England stars watch on

As far as the rest of England’s representation, there is not too much to report on.

Brydon Carse and David Payne have both been ruled out for the remainder of the tournament through injury.

They were both with Sunrisers Hyderabad, where Liam Livingstone joined for a significant sum in the auction, but the all-rounder has only featured in one game.

Fellow all-rounder Will Jacks has only just arrived after being granted time off by Mumbai Indians following a busy winter period with England.

Tom Banton and Luke Wood have both yet to play their first game for Gujarat Titans.

Wasted opportunity for Bethell and Cox

It is the same situation for Jacob Bethell and Jordan Cox at RCB due to overseas quota and team balance (West Indies’ all-rounder Romario Shepherd has been the preferred option).

For those two batters in particular, carrying the drinks and sitting on the sidelines in the build-up to the international summer feels a wasted opportunity when someone like Jamie Smith – who reportedly rejected an IPL replacement gig – has been churning out runs at the start of the domestic season.

Bethell’s position in the Test side is likely safe given his performances at the back end of the Ashes series, whereas Ben Duckett’s decision to withdraw from the IPL felt more necessary, though the 22-year-old once again faces heading into an English summer with a lack of match practice.

As for Cox, who has been named in three previous Test squads, at a time when the County Championship is supposedly under closer attention from the England setup, the Essex wicketkeeper-batter has likely missed a chance to stake his claim further for the red-ball side this year.

READ MORE: The key talking points from Round Two of the County Championship