Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s appointment as the East Zone vice-captain for the 2026 Duleep Trophy probably came too soon.
The Indian Test team selection hierarchy has fallen into a pattern. It usually goes from the state-level Ranji Trophy to the zonal Duleep to the Rest of India XI in the Irani Cup to selection for the India A first-class team. Once one does well at this final level, they wait for the next empty slot.
Abhimanyu Easwaran took this path several years ago. He has even captained India A and been part of the Test squad, but the Test cap remained elusive. His Bengal teammate Mohammed Shami, one of India's greatest fast bowlers of all time, is still striving for a comeback.
Both are part of the East Zone team at this year's Duleep Trophy. Ishan Kishan, who had led India to the U19 World Cup final in 2016 and Jharkhand to their maiden Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy title in 2026, will lead that side. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, all of 15 and with a batting average of 17.60 across eight first-class matches, will be his deputy.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's premature promotion
This is not the first time Sooryavanshi has been named vice-captain of a domestic side. Bihar had given him the same role during the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy, albeit for two matches. But Bihar played in the Plate League that season, and did not have major names. It was not unexpected of them to promote Sooryavanshi.
Of course, a lot has taken place in Sooryavanshi’s life since that happened. In February 2026, he played an absurd innings in the U19 World Cup final. He smashed a plethora of records during the 2026 IPL and as good as forced the selectors to pick him for the national squad. Playing for India A, he hit the fastest List A hundred of all time. He was named Player of the Series in his first full series, in Zimbabwe.
He is not merely an eye-catching talent anymore. At 15, he has scaled heights some of the best in the world have not.
But ... almost all of that has been in limited-overs cricket, mostly T20. Sooryavanshi is yet to play a full season in first-class cricket. He has only one half-century across 12 innings in that format.
Of course, he has hit two hundreds in Youth Tests, both against Australia. The first, at the age of 13, was a 62-ball 104 in Chennai. The other, exactly a year later, was an 86-ball 113 in Brisbane. Yet, despite those two hundreds (and a half-century against England), his average languishes at 33.1: he has not crossed 20 in his other seven innings. He has undoubtedly shown glimpses of his talent in long-form cricket, but not consistency.
I wonder what the thinking is behind making Sooryavanshi vice-captain of a senior red ball team. He has played 12 innings for 207 runs @ 17.25. His talent is extraordinary but there is a learning curve and he is at the bottom of it in red ball cricket.
— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) July 30, 2026
Of course, there is no doubt that he should have been picked for the East Zone squad. Given his obvious gifts, a delay at this level might have been counterproductive. At the same time, one cannot help but wonder whether he has been thrust into that leadership territory too soon in his career, even before he hit a hundred (let alone found sustained success).
Perhaps this could have waited until he had played his first full season in the Indian domestic circuit. He is already having to adjust from the packed grounds in the IPL and in England to the non-glamorous world of domestic cricket. This new role – especially if Kishan misses a game for any reason – will come with the additional responsibilities of having to lead a team of cricketers, some of them twice as old and vastly experienced.
It probably happened a season too soon for Sooryavanshi.
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