Vijaykumar Vyshak has been part of the IPL since 2023, but he’s never played more than seven games in a season. That came in IPL 2023, his debut season, where he was picked up as a replacement player by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). He played just four matches in IPL 2024 and five in 2025, often coming in as an Impact Player. But things are looking up for the fast bowler.
While it’s early days, Vyshak has started in all three games in IPL 2026, is Punjab Kings’ leading wicket-taker and has been effective in all phases. He also briefly held the purple cap. Vyshak has taken five wickets in the two games he’s bowled (the KKR game was washed out) which is more than his haul in 2024 (four) and 2025 (four).
Against Gujarat Titans, Vyshak stalled the momentum by first getting rid of Glenn Phillips and then picking up Washington Sundar and Shahrukh Khan in the death to restrict the late surge. Then, against Chennai Super Kings, Vyshak removed the set Ayush Mhatre for 73 with a wide yorker before accounting for the rampaging Sarfaraz Khan by hitting a hard length. What has he changed in 2026 which wasn’t happening earlier?
“I look forward to improving every season, every game. That is what has been keeping me on my toes to make sure that I am better than what I was a game before or even a day before.” Vyshak said. “And it’s obviously helped me grow. In T20s, if you keep the run-rate under ten when you’re playing on a flat wicket, I think that is when you put pressure on the batting team.
“It doesn’t matter who tells you what; you are your biggest motivator. On that day, on that ground, whenever you play a game, I think the way you motivate yourself is something that will matter a lot and play on your mind. I always make sure that I do that. It doesn’t matter who the batsman is. I just want to make sure that I know that I am thinking positively and then I want to deliver for my team.”
Vyshak’s stocks have been on the rise in the last couple of years. He was Karnataka’s leading wicket-taker in the 2025-26 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and has been the leader of their fast bowling unit in recent times. In October 2024, he also received his maiden India call-up for a four-match T20I series in South Africa and while he didn’t get a debut, just being around the senior India team “was a great learning.”
With all that experience behind him, Vyshak comes into IPL 2026 focusing on being a team player. His wicket count makes for a pretty reading, but that’s not something that he is chasing.
“I don’t see the number of wickets I take,” Vyshak says. “Yes, wickets are good and I hope I can continue getting those wickets. But as long as we are doing the process right, we are winning the game; that is more important. I want to make sure that I can put in some effort and make some contribution to the team’s victory.
“From the first game that I played for RCB, I’ve always wanted to improvise. Obviously, I’ve been gaining a lot of confidence [by taking wickets] and I’m doing well for the team. But again, that confidence will grow only when you’re making sure the team is winning. As long as the team is winning, you don’t really think about anything else. That is what has helped me grow as a player and become the player I am right now.”
Vyshak has come a long way from just a hit-the-deck bowler who would hurry the batters with his hard lengths and skiddy pace. He can consistently clock speeds in the range of early to mid-140s, but it’s the variations that have helped Vyshak grow as a bowler. He has developed a knuckle ball, slower offcutters, wide yorkers and credits his rise to the work he’s done in the off-season.
“Of course, without doing the backend nets sessions, working really hard, you can’t be playing at such a big stage,” he said. “I seriously think that whatever you’ve been practicing and whatever things you’ve been doing right, that is what is going to reflect in your games as well.
“Whenever you come for a new season, you have to upgrade yourself. Every team has a video analyst and then they analyse your bowling and keep looking at it, so you just have to keep getting better and better. I always make sure that whenever I come, I have a new delivery for myself. That is what I’ve been trying on, a couple of slower ones or maybe a couple of more variations. So hopefully, I can get it this season or maybe next year.”
At PBKS, Vyshak often reaches out to team-mate Arshdeep Singh for any help with fast bowling. The other player from whom he draws plenty of inspiration is captain Shreyas Iyer.
“He [Shreyas] has been very supportive,” Vyshak said. “When you’re playing [in the] IPL, you might have a couple of bad games, but he’s always backed his bowlers and players, no matter what. And that is very important especially for a bowler.
“I can go and talk to Shreyas whenever; his door is always open. He doesn’t lock his door. He’s done exceptionally well in this format, he’s been playing for India and I’m sure he’ll be the Indian captain soon. When somebody like that is willingly coming and saying that my doors are open, it’s inspirational.”
While his immediate goal is taking PBKS to the playoffs and getting them over the line, Vyshak is also working towards his ultimate goal: play Test cricket for India.
“When you start playing cricket, you always look to play Test matches for the Indian team,” he said. “That is something that still gives me chills when I think about wearing that Indian cap and playing a Test match for my country. But, yes, now the format that we’re playing, I want to do well [here]. Hopefully I can continue doing this and I can play for the Indian team.”
Vyshak has had a stop-start IPL career thus far but he seems to be turning a new page in IPL 2026. He knows that with Marco Jansen, Arshdeep and Xavier Bartlett around, he might not start every game, but he wants to make every opportunity count.
