Patna: In a bold and unprecedented move, the Bihar Cricket Board has appointed 15-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the captain of the state team for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. The domestic T20 tournament, featuring 38 teams, is scheduled to commence on November 14 and will run until December 6.
With this significant appointment, the explosive left-handed batsman is set to become the youngest player to captain a side in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, and arguably in the history of professional T20 cricket worldwide. Sooryavanshi will be supported by Suraj Kashyap, who has been named as his deputy. The Bihar Cricket Board has currently announced the 17-member squad for the first two matches of the tournament.
The decision to hand over the reins to a teenager comes despite recent cautionary remarks from cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar. During a recent interaction on X (formerly Twitter), Tendulkar was asked about Sooryavanshi previously being named vice-captain in the Duleep Trophy. The Master Blaster expressed reservations about burdening the young talent with leadership roles too soon.
“I think it is too early to make Vaibhav the vice-captain in the Duleep Trophy. We should let him play more red-ball matches and take it one step at a time,” Tendulkar had stated, emphasising the need to let the youngster focus on developing his game without the added pressure of captaincy.
Despite the concerns raised by veterans, Sooryavanshi’s elevation highlights the immense faith the Bihar selectors have in his abilities. For context on his achievement, the youngest captain in international T20 cricket is Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, who led his side at 17 years and 311 days. Among Test-playing nations, Afghanistan’s Rashid Khan holds the record for taking charge of the ODI team at the age of 19, and the Test side at 20. Sooryavanshi’s appointment at just 15 shatters these benchmarks in the domestic circuit.
Bihar Squad for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (First Two Matches):
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Captain), Suraj Kashyap (Vice-Captain), Ayush Loharuka (WK), Anmol Kumar (WK), Alok Kumar, Altamash Ashraf, Param Kumar Singh, Ritwik Raj, Mayank Kumar, Raghavendra Pratap, Ashish Kumar, Vasudev Pratap Singh, Mohammad Izhar, Amod Yadav, Prashant Singh, Nawaz Khan, Himanshu Singh.