Vaibhav Sooryavanshi gets maiden DRS call as stand-in captain right in Duleep Trophy 2026 semifinal; watch video

India’s 15-year-old opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi donned the captaincy hat in the Duleep Trophy 2026 semifinal in the absence of Ishan Kishan who suffered an injury to his right hand in the first session. The East Zone stand-in captain Sooryavanshi had to make a tough call in the second session as Mukesh Kumar appealed for caught behind against Central Zone's Aryan Juyal. Sooryavanshi was reluctant at first but then Mukesh managed to convince the youngster with three seconds left on the clock.

The decision went upstairs and the ultraedge showed a clear spike as the ball passed the bat. As the decision was overturned Sooryavanshi’s shades almost fell off his face.

The video of the DRS call has gone viral on social media -

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Mukesh got his second wicket of the day. Juyal headed back to the dressing room after scoring 46 runs from 113 balls. He was caught by Kumar Kushagra who took over the gloves in the absence of Kishan. Mukesh had dismissed Central Zone skipper Rajat Patidar earlier in the first session.

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Sooryavanshi became stand-in captain in the 19th over as Kishan left the field. The star wicketkeeper-batter returned to action late into the second session.

Sooryavanshi didn’t bowl as captain in Kishan’s absence

While taking the captaincy calls, Sooryavanshi did not introduce himself into the attack. He had taken two wickets in the quarterfinal clash against North East Zone in just three overs he bowled.

“If you ask any batter, he enjoys bowling. Or if you ask a bowler, he enjoys batting. The opponents weren't losing wickets, so I was asked to bowl 2-3 overs. Ishan bhaiya thought that he was taking a risk in giving me the ball. But he didn't know that I'm a wicket taker,” Sooryavanshi said in a video shared by BCCI Domestic.

Sooryavanshi’s turn to shine in red-ball format

Sooryavanshi could not make a useful contribution with the bat on his Duleep Trophy debut. He got to bat only once as East Zone won by an innings. He hit two fours before losing his wicket to Manipur pacer. He is yet to assert his dominance in red-ball domestic cricket.