Why Vaibhav Sooryavanshi donned captain's hat in Duleep Trophy semi-final
What's the story
In a rare turn of events, 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took over East Zone's captaincy in the ongoing Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone. The young cricketer from Bihar took over the reins after regular skipper Ishan Kishan suffered an injury while keeping wickets. The match began on Sunday morning at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 1, Bengaluru.
Captaincy shift
Kishan was hit on his right wrist
Kishan was hit on his right wrist while keeping wickets on Day 1. He was treated by the team physios before leaving for further assessment.
With Kishan unavailable, Sooryavanshi took over as captain of a senior men's team for the first time in his career.
The decision had sparked debates earlier this month when he was named vice-captain of the squad.
Selector's stance
East Zone selectors had defended their decision
East Zone selectors had defended their decision to appoint Sooryavanshi as vice-captain, saying it was made with an eye on the future.
"We are not thinking about the present alone," Manish Vardhan, a Jharkhand selector on the East Zone selection committee, had told Cricinfo.
This is Sooryavanshi's second Duleep Trophy match and 10th in First-Class cricket since making his historic debut during the Ranji Trophy in early 2024.
Career stats
How has Sooryavanshi fared in FC cricket?
In his first Duleep Trophy innings, Sooryavanshi scored just eight runs. However, he took two wickets as East Zone won by an innings.
Overall, in nine First-Class games, the left-hander has scored 215 runs at an average of 16.53 with one half-century.
Sooryavanshi has already taken white-ball cricket by storm, shattering plenty of records in the T20 and 50-over formats.