R Ashwin predicts the next big thing in Indian cricket! It's not Vaibhav Sooryavanshi or Ayush Mhatre

Ravichandran Ashwin opined that the ability to play impactful knocks puts Punjab Kings' young opener Priyansh Arya slightly ahead of fellow prodigies Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre.

The former India off-spinner shared his assessment after Arya played a breathtaking knock 93 runs off 37 balls against the Lucknow Super Giants on Sunday, April 19.

"Kisiko upar-neeche laane ka nahi hai, magar ye jo Priyansh Arya hai na. Jitna Ayush Mhatre, jitna Vaibhav Sooryavanshi hain, usse bhi thora ek kadam mujhe lag raha hain agey hain. Compare nahi kar raha hu. Kyunki yeh bada run bana leta hain, inke paas range of shots zyada hain ("I am not trying to put anyone above or below anyone, but Priyansh Arya, to me, looks a step ahead even of Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. I am not comparing them, because he goes on to make big scores and he has a wider range of shots.")," Ashwin said on his YouTube channel.

The 24-year-old Arya made his IPL debut last year and hit the ground running, amassing 475 runs in 17 innings at a strike rate of 179.25. However, in IPL 2026, he has taken his game up by a few notches. In five innings, he has aggregated 211 runs at an average of 42.20 and a strike rate of 248.24. This includes two fifties, 14 fours and 20 sixes.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre haven't been far behind, though. The former has already amassed 246 runs in six innings, averaging 41 at a strike rate of 236.54. His ultra-aggressive batting has made the dangerous Yashasvi Jaiswal play second fiddle at the top of the order for the Rajasthan Royals.

On the other hand, Ayush Mhatre also had an impressive start to IPL 2026, scoring 201 runs in six innings at an average of 33.50 and a strike rate of 177.88. However, his campaign came to an end in unfortunate circumstances after he was ruled out due to a left hamstring injury.