Vaibhav Sooryavanshi named Bihar captain for Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy
The 15-year-old batter will lead the 17-member squad starting from November 14 in Indore.
The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) has named 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as the captain of the Bihar cricket team for the upcoming Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, according to The News Mill and The Hindu. Suraj Kashyap has been appointed vice-captain of the 17-member squad.
The senior selection committee finalised the squad on November 6 following trials held from November 4 to 6. The squad includes Alok Kumar, Ayush Loharuka, Altamash Ashraf, Param Kumar Singh, Anmol Kumar, Ritwik Raj, Mayank Kumar, Raghvendra Pratap, Ashish Kumar, Vasudev Pratap Singh, Mohammad Izhar, Amod Yadav, Prashant Singh, Nawaz Khan and Himanshu Singh.
BCA president Harsh Vardhan said Sooryavanshi has demonstrated talent, confidence and maturity at a young age. He added that the responsibility would provide the player an opportunity to grow as a leader.
Coach Manish Ojha noted that Sooryavanshi previously held the vice-captaincy in the Duleep Trophy and performed well. He described the appointment as a positive indication that Bihar cricket is moving in the right direction.
The fitness of Mangal Mahour and Shakib Hussain will be assessed after the team's first two matches to determine their availability. Bihar is in Group B and will begin their campaign against Saurashtra on November 14 in Indore.
Sooryavanshi, who represents Rajasthan Royals in the 2026 Indian Premier League, recently played in a T20 International against New Zealand. He is expected to feature in Bihar's first two matches before joining the India A squad for the ACC Men's Asia Cup Rising Stars 2026 in Doha.