So that’s curtains for IPL 2026… Congratulations to Team RCB for lifting the trophy for the second year in a row.

For me, the most memorable part of this tournament was Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

What he has done at his age is beyond extraordinary. For a 15-year-old to finish the world’s premier T20 tournament as the Orange Cap winner is actually mindboggling.

But insane talent was not the only thing I was drawn to in Vaibhav. It was the humility, the grounded behaviour, the respect he showed towards seniors, the visible disappointment when he got out, the tears after a loss.

In many ways, those moments touched me more than the sixes did.

Because modern sport (and honestly, modern success in general) often rewards image over authenticity. People become media-trained very quickly. Emotions become controlled. Reactions become calculated. Vulnerability slowly disappears behind confidence.

But with Vaibhav, I still saw the child behind the cricketer. And maybe that’s what made it impossible not to root for him.

You could see that the game still meant something deeply personal to him. That failure still hurt. That winning still mattered emotionally. That success had not yet turned him into a performance.

There was something genuinely refreshing about that, especially in a world where popularity often creates arrogance long before it creates maturity.

Success reveals people. And somehow, in the middle of all the fame and attention, Vaibhav still looked humble, emotional, and real.

I genuinely wish he goes on to achieve everything his talent promises. But more importantly, I hope the humility and innocence survive the records and the spotlight.

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Pic Credit: @BCCI