Who is Vihaan Malhotra? 5 interesting facts about RCB's uncapped signing at IPL 2026 Auction 

Defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) made several key additions to their already-intimidating roster in the IPL 2026 auction. The franchise went all-out on uncapped players, with five out of their eight buys coming from that category. One such was the Patiala-born teenager, Vihaan Malhotra, for ₹30 Lakh.

At 18, Vihaan has already created waves around the Indian cricket domain with noteworthy performances this year. While his chances of breaking into the playing 11 may be slim next season, the batting all-rounder could be one of the massive prospects for RCB in the future.

Interestingly, Vihaan is among the rare cricketers who bat left-handed but bowl right-arm off-spin. That aside, RCB fans have been curious to learn other interesting things about the youngster.

On that note, here are five interesting facts about RCB's uncapped signing at the IPL 2026 auction, Vihaan Malhotra.

#1 Vihaan Malhotra's rise to fame on English soil

Vihaan Malhotra became a relatively well-known name among ardent Indian cricket followers during the India Under-19 tour of England earlier this year. The southpaw finished as the third leading run-scorer in the ODIs, scoring 243 runs in five matches at an average of 48.60 and a strike rate of almost 99.

His heroics helped India Under-19 pull off a 3-2 series win against the England Under-19 side on English soil. Vihaan's run did not stop there as he flourished in the red-ball series that followed.

The 18-year-old finished as the second-highest run-getter over the two Tests, scoring 277 runs at an average of over 69, including a century and two half-centuries.

#2 Sacrifice for two IPL 2025 stars

Before the above-mentioned England tour, Vihaan Malhotra had to sacrifice his opening role to two of IPL 2025's young stars, Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi. It was Vihaan's coach, Kamalpreet Sandhu, who urged the youngster to buy into his new role at No.3 and perform.

"He has opened all his life. Batting at No.3 was an adjustment for him. I just gave him the reality check that Vaibhav and Ayush had earned it, and what had he done? He should make that No.3 spot his own," said Kamalpreet to TOI.

Vihaan bought into his coach's words and rediscovered his form while batting at No.3 on the memorable England tour.

#3 Idolizing Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill

Vihaan Malhotra spoke in a recent interview about relishing the grind in all three formats. He also talked about wanting to earn a national call-up not just through a few memorable IPL knocks.

It is for these reasons that the teenage sensation idolizes Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill, given their ability to thrive across formats.

"I look up to Shubman Gill. He’s technically sound yet dominates white-ball cricket. He and Virat Kohli are great examples of complete batters," said Vihaan (via Hindustan Times). "From a very young age, I understood that cricket isn’t just one format — each format demands something different. I’ve always believed that being technically strong in red-ball cricket lays the foundation to succeed in white-ball too. These days, with the IPL, there’s this perception that a couple of good knocks can earn you an India call-up. I don’t agree with that. It’s the grind that counts," he added.

Following his memorable English tour, Vihaan performed admirably in the subsequent U-19 tour of Australia. The southpaw was the fourth leading run-scorer in the ODIs at an average of only a tick under 40, but struggled in the red-ball matches, averaging under 13.

#4 The Vaibhav Suryavanshi inspiration and competition

14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi dominated headlines with his remarkable performances in the 2025 IPL season. Picked by the Rajasthan Royals at an unbelievably young age, the southpaw made heads turn by scoring 252 runs at an average of 36 and a strike rate of 206.55 in seven matches.

Meanwhile, Vihaan Malhotra believes Suryanshi's domination has served as an inspiration to him, even if he is aware of the potential future competition with the RR opener.

Vihaan also talked about 18-year-old Ayush Mhatre in the same breath and spoke about the impact of the duo, saying:

"The focus on Vaibhav and Ayush kind of helped me as I went under the radar. They knew about Vaibhav and Mhatre. They wanted to get them out early. All the bowlers wanted to get the wicket of IPL players (on the England U-19 tour). I have two absolute superstars in my team. Competition is there, and in the future, people will compare us with them as well. When Vaibhav was hitting sixes for fun in the IPL, it pumped me to work hard."

Mhatre was just as impressive as Vaibhav in his maiden IPL season earlier this year, scoring 240 runs at an average of 34.28 and a strike rate of 188.97 in seven games.

#5 Imitating Shubman Gill's celebration

Not only does Vihaan Malhotra idolize Team India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill for his batting, but he also does for his celebration. Gill is famous for his bow celebration after reaching milestones, something Vihaan revealed he imitates when he reaches milestones.

The teenager also opened up about watching his idol, Gill, live in England at the same time as his Under-19 tour of the UK.

"It was incredible to watch him bat live, especially how he built his innings from 100 to 200. I celebrate my milestones like him, too — with that bow," said Vihaan Malhotra (via the aforementioned source).

Gill enjoyed a memorable Test series in England, scoring 754 runs at an average of over 75, including four centuries, in the 2-2 drawn five-match series.

Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran