Veteran batting great Virat Kohli and 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will be in the spotlight as the T20 Indian Premier League spans the generations in the playoffs beginning on Wednesday morning AEST.

There are 22 years between the 37-year-old Kohli, who helped power defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru to the top of the regular season standings, and teenage prodigy Sooryavanshi whose batting fireworks have been the talk of the IPL season.

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Kohli and Bengaluru will meet Gujarat Titans in the first “qualifying” playoff in Dharamsala on Tuesday local time with the winner going straight into Monday morning AEST’s final in Ahmedabad.

Sooryavanshi and Rajasthan Royals sealed the final playoff berth in their final game of the regular season and will meet Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday morning AEST in Chandigarh, where the losers will go home.

The winner will face the loser of the qualifying playoff in the final eliminator on Saturday morning AEST in Chandigarh.

“We don’t pick age, we pick ability,” Rajasthan head coach Kumar Sangakkara said, referring to the 15-year-old rising star.

“All guys, young and old, have done well to drag us to qualification.”

Rajasthan Royals’ Indian cricket player Vaibhav Sooryavanshi celebrates after scoring a half-century (50 runs) during the 2026 Indian Premier League.Source: AFP

England fast bowler Jofra Archer has also been instrumental in Rajasthan’s campaign, scoring 32 runs and taking 3-17 in the win that saw them into the last four.

Kohli, who has stepped away from Test cricket and T20 internationals, is chasing a second straight IPL title with Bengaluru after waiting 18 seasons to lift his first in 2025.

“Even after all these years, it is the love for the game. I just love hitting the ball in the middle of the bat. That joy is still there,” said Kohli, who is ninth on the IPL batting chart with 557 runs and a top score of 105 not out.

Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Virat Kohli leaves the ground after losing his wicket.Source: AP

Sooryavanshi is fifth on 583 runs with and a best of 103 off 37 balls. Rajasthan’s opponents will be Sunrisers Hyderabad, who boast a formidable batting line-up featuring openers Travis Head of Australia, Abhishek Sharma and South African Heinrich Klaasen, who has hammered 606 runs with six half-centuries.

The batting chart is topped by Gujarat Titans openers Sai Sudharsan (638 runs) and Shubman Gill (616).

Gujarat won the IPL in their debut season in 2022 and if they reach the final again will play the showpiece in their home 130,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Australian cricket player Travis Head (C) speaks with Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s Australian cricket player Tim David (R).Source: AFP

HOW TO WATCH

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PLAYOFF FIXTURES

Qualifier 1 – Royal Challengers Bengaluru v Gujarat Titans – 12am AEST Wednesday 27 May

Eliminator – Rajasthan Royals v Sunrisers Hyderabad – 12am AEST Thursday 28 May

Qualifier 2 – Loser of Qualifier v Winner of Eliminator – 12am AEST Saturday 30 May

Final – Winner of Qualifier 1 v Winner of Qualifier 2 – 12am AEST Monday 1 June

AUSSIES IN ACTION

Royal Challengers Bengaluru — Tim David and Josh Hazlewood

Gujarat Titans — N/A

Rajasthan Royals — N/A

Sunrisers Hyderabad — Pat Cummins and Travis Head

Sunrisers Hyderabad’s Praful Hinge, left and Pat Cummins celebrates the wicket of Gujarat Titans’ Jos Buttler.Source: AP