Sooryavanshi Takes On Red-Ball Test as Vice-Captain

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s rapid rise in Indian cricket keeps adding fresh chapters. He broke into the international setup at just 15, followed that with a run-heavy IPL campaign, endured a rocky start to T20 cricket in England, and then earned the Player of the Series award during a tour of Zimbabwe. Now he faces a very different kind of challenge altogether.

A New Kind of Challenge

This Sunday, East Zone open their Duleep Trophy campaign against North East Zone at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. For Sooryavanshi, the match is not just about proving himself in the longer format of the game. At only 15 years old, he has also been named vice-captain of a squad that includes experienced campaigners such as Mohammed Shami, Mukesh Kumar and Abhimanyu Easwaran, with Ishan Kishan leading the side.

The dual responsibility — adjusting to red-ball cricket while taking on a leadership role — marks a significant vote of confidence from Indian cricket’s selectors and think tank in the teenager’s temperament and ability to grow quickly.

Translating White-Ball Success to Red-Ball Cricket

Much of Sooryavanshi’s reputation so far has been built on explosive white-ball batting, particularly his aggressive stroke play and ability to dominate bowling attacks early in an innings. The Duleep Trophy, however, demands patience, technical soundness and the discipline to leave deliveries outside off stump — skills quite different from the ones that made him a sensation in T20 cricket.

How he balances this technical adjustment with the added pressure of a leadership role will be closely watched, offering an early indication of whether his rapid ascent can be sustained across formats as his career progresses.