Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Named Vice Captain As Big Squad Announced For Crucial Indian Tournament

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi [PC- AFP]Vaibhav Sooryavanshi seems to be scaling new heights with each passing day. Shortly after winning the ‘Player of the Series’ award in Zimbabwe, the 15-year-old has been named as vice-captain of a prestigious Indian cricket team in one of India’s oldest first-class tournaments.It is worth noting that Sooryavanshi has played just eight first-class matches so far in his career, but is still highly regarded as one of the stars of the future for the Indian cricket team. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named in big tournament, to vice-captain a teamOn Wednesday, July 29, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was named in a 15-player East Zone squad for the upcoming 2026 Duleep Trophy season in India. The Bihar cricketer was even named vice-captain of the side, with India teammate and Jharkhand stalwart Ishan Kishan being named as captain. Also Read- Can India Afford A Vaibhav Sooryavanshi-Rohit Sharma Opening Pair At 2027 World Cup?Both Ishan Kishan and Sooryavanshi will be joined by fellow star attractions like Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Shahbaz Ahmed among others. Here is a look at the entire East Zone squad for the 2026 Duleep Trophy season.East Zone squad: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Shahbaz Ahmed, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar, Ishan Kishan (c), Kumar Kushagra, Shikhar Mohan, Anukul Roy, Virat Singh, Subhranshu Senapati, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (vc), Denish Das and Abhijit Sarkar.Stand-by players: Ayush Loharuka, Sridam Paul, Sambit S. Baral, Sharandeep Singh and Swastik Samal.Duleep Trophy 2026 schedule revealedThe Duleep Trophy 2026 season itself will be played between August 23 and September 6. As usual, six teams will be participating in the five-match tournament. Central Zone will start out as defending champions for winning the 2025 edition last year under the leadership of Rajat Patidar. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s record in first-class cricketVaibhav Sooryavanshi has not played a single first-class match since turning up for Bihar during the early stage of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season late last year. Playing for Bihar, the young left-handed opener smeared 93 runs off just 67 balls with nine boundaries and four huge sixes.Overall, the 15-year-old has played eight first-class matches in his career, aggregating 207 runs at a below par average of 17.25. Despite holding an underwhelming record in the format, his state cricket association and the BCCI seem to be trusting him with greater responsibilities, highlighting the immense faith they have in his potential.Sooryavanshi redeems himself in ZimbabweVaibhav Sooryavanshi recently made his international debut in England, thus becoming the youngest Indian cricketer to play his first match for the country. While the 15-year-old failed to go big in his three innings in England, the left-hander soared in Zimbabwe with two match-winning half-centuries.The attacking opener aggregated 151 runs in just three innings at an average of 50.33 to bag the ‘Player of the Series’ award. In doing so, the Bihar cricketer and India opener became the youngest Indian player to win a ‘Player of the Series’, as well as 'Player of the Match' award in any format at the senior level.Also Read- Pakistan Players Punished By ICC