SMAT 2026: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appointed Bihar captain

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, an Indian opener, has been named captain of Bihar for their first two games in the 2026 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.

After progressing through the ranks of domestic cricket, the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi made his way into the India T20I team earlier this year. The captaincy gig adds to the glowing resume of the teenager that has already seen him break several age-group and IPL records across his 44-match T20 career so far.

Suraj Kashyap will serve as Sooryavanshi's replacement for the first two games, the first of which is against Saurashtra on November 14 in Indore. The second one, against Railways, is scheduled for November 16. This is the first time Sooryavanshi will lead the senior Bihar side.

The teenager's promotion to vice-captain of the East Zone in the Duleep Trophy in August and September is a natural progression in leadership. He also briefly took over for Ishan Kishan as captain when the captain had to miss the Duleep Trophy final because of an injury. Cricbuzz had been informed at the time by an East Zone selector that the purpose of Sooryavanshi's appointment was to give him "more responsibility to help mature even further."

Bihar had a forgettable last season in the T20 tournament: they managed just one win in seven group games. Six of those were played by Sooryavanshi, who scored one hundred and struck at 168.37.

His most recent assignment for India was two Twenty20 Internationals on the New Zealand tour.