The 15-year-old was originally named vice-captain of the East Zone side, with Ishan Kishan leading the team
Published: August 30, 2026, 1:14 PM IST
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Vaibhav Sooryavanshi during day 1 of the Duleep Trophy 2026 semi-final against Central Zone at the BCCI CoE in Bengaluru(Credits: X)
Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has officially been handed his first-ever leadership role in senior cricket after he was chosen as the stand-in captain for East Zone during their Duleep Trophy 2026 semi-final against Central ZoneSooryavanshi made his much-anticipated India debut back in July and just a month later, he is getting the chance to lead a set of cricketers who are much senior than them.
The path opened after captain Ishan Kishan left the BCCI CoE field due to injuryKishan was forced to leave the field after suffering an injury to his right wrist during the matchSooryavanshi then took over the captaincy in the 19th over of Central Zone’s innings.
The 15-year-old was originally named vice-captain of the East Zone side, with Ishan Kishan leading the teamThe Jharkhand cricketer got hit on his right wrist behind the stumps and was forced to head into the dressing room for immediate treatmentKishan’s right hand was fully strapped.
Meanwhile, East Zone booked their place in the Duleep Trophy semi-final with a commanding innings-and-210-run win over North East Zone in the quarter-finalThey put up 467 in their first innings, with Shahbaz Ahmed scoring 167 and Sudip Kumar Gharami making 146.
North East Zone were then bowled out for just 111 and were forced to follow onThey were dismissed for 146 in their second innings, giving East Zone a big win inside three daysAnukul Roy took five wickets in the match, while Shahbaz was named Player of the MatchVaibhav Sooryavanshi also contributed with two wickets.
In the semi-final, East Zone won the toss and decided to bowl first earlier today and at the time of writing, Central Zone were 93/3 by session two.
Central Zone vs East Zone, Duleep Trophy 2026 semi-final: Playing XIs
East Zone XI: Abhimanyu Easwaran, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Kumar Kushagra, Sudip Kumar Gharami, Ishan Kishan(WK/C), Virat Singh, Md Kounain Quraishi, Anukul Roy, Abhijit K Sarkar, Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar
Central Zone XI: Aman Mokhade, Aryan Juyal (WK), Kunal Chandela, Yash Rathod, Rajat Patidar (C), Rinku Singh, Saransh Jain, Harsh Dubey, Arshad Khan, Yash Thakur, Aryan Pandey
