India's 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi assumed the captaincy role on Day 1 of the Duleep Trophy 2026 semifinal. Sooryavanshi had to call the shots as East Zone skipper Ishan Kishan was hit on the hand in the first session and left the field.
In the 19th over of Central Zone's first innings, Sooryavanshi became the stand-in captain with Kumar Kushagra donning the wicketkeeping gloves.
Sooryavanshi is leading the side which includes the likes of Mohammed Shami whose first-class career started in 2010, months before the young opener’s birth.
The destructive opener Sooryavanshi was named vice-captain of the East Zone. The squad includes an experienced Mukesh Kumar, Abhimanyu Easwaran and others. Easwaran leads Bengal in domestic cricket but was not named Kishan's deputy.
Why Sooryavanshi was chosen for leadership role?
Jharkhand's representative in the East Zone selection committee, Manish Vardhan explained the call to make Sooryavanshi vice-captain. Vardhan wants the youngster to learn how to captain and take responsibility in order to make him a better player.
"We are not thinking about the present alone," Vardhan told Cricinfo. "A vice-captain gets to observe the captain closely and understand how a team is run. We wanted Vaibhav to be more involved with the group because we think it will help him as he develops.
"He's an extremely talented cricketer and is maturing steadily. Giving him this responsibility is another part of that process."
Sooryavanshi looking to fire with the bat
In the quarterfinal clash against North East Zone, Sooryavanshi was dismissed for a single-digit score by pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam. He was handed the ball for three overs in North East Zone's second innings as they were following on. The left-arm spinner claimed the wickets of Kishan Lyngdoh and Imliwati Lemtur in his second over.
It will be interesting to see whether Sooryavanshi introduces himself into the attack as stand-in captain on Day 1 of the semifinal match. At the end of first session, Central Zone were 81/3 after 32 overs.
Setback for Kishan
The extent of Kishan’s injury is yet to be revealed. The injury setback came days ahead of the squad selection for the T20I series against Afghanistan.