SMAT 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named Bihar captain
Recently, the 15-year-old was named Ishan Kishan's deputy for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy
India opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named Bihar captain for their first two matches of the 2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Sooryavanshi, 15, broke into the India T20I side earlier this year after rising up the ranks in domestic cricket. The captaincy gig adds to the glowing resume of the teenager that has already seen him break several age-group and IPL records across his 44-match T20 career so far.
Suraj Kashyap will be Sooryavanshi’s deputy for the first two matches, the first of which will be played against Saurashtra in Indore on November 14. The second one, against Railways, is scheduled for November 16. This is the first time Sooryavanshi will lead the senior Bihar side.
It’s a natural progression in leadership for the teenage prodigy, who was named East Zone’s vice-captain in the Duleep Trophy in August-September. He also briefly stepped in to lead on Ishan Kishan’s behalf, when the captain had to be out of the field due to an injury during the Duleep Trophy final. At that time, an East Zone selector had told Cricbuzz that the rationale behind Sooryavanshi’s appointment was to give him “more responsibility to help mature even further”.
Bihar had a forgettable last season in the T20 tournament: they managed just one win in seven group games. Sooryavanshi featured in six of those, hitting one century, and striking at 168.37.
His most recent assignment for India was on the New Zealand tour, featuring in two T20Is.
