Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest captain in men’s Twenty20 cricket history on Saturday, leading his state side Bihar at 15 years and 232 days old in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
The teenage opener walked out for the toss at Indore’s Holkar Stadium against Saurashtra in the Elite Group B fixture, breaking the previous record held by Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, according to BBC Sport. Vukusic was 17 years and 311 days old when he captained his country against Cyprus on August 7, 2025.
Bihar Hands Captaincy to Youngest Skipper
Telegraph India reported that Sooryavanshi was handed the captaincy by Bihar for the first two fixtures of the domestic T20 tournament following four consecutive defeats during the opening half of their 2026-27 Ranji Trophy campaign. He won the toss and elected to bat first against a side led by Jaydev Unadkat, opening the innings alongside Alok Kumar, as detailed by The Daily Jagran.
Taimur Ali is another youthful skipper on the roster, having taken charge of the Quetta Bears in a 2009 domestic T20 match in Pakistan when he was 17 years and 358 days old. International matches account for the presence of Vukusic and Laksh Bakrania on the standings, alongside Noman Amjad, who captained France against the Czech Republic in July 2022.
Bihar lost the match by five wickets. Sooryavanshi contributed 18 runs from 12 balls before left-arm pace bowler Chetan Sakariya caught him off his own bowling.
“Vaibhav has already demonstrated tremendous talent, confidence and maturity at a young age, and this responsibility will provide him with another opportunity to grow as a cricketer and leader,” said Harsh Vardhan, Bihar Cricket Association president, in a release covered by Rediff.
“We are hopeful that under Vaibhav’s leadership, the team will deliver a disciplined, competitive and effective performance while representing the state in the upcoming season,” Vardhan said.
Star Batsman Collects More Milestones
Earlier this year, Sooryavanshi starred for the Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League, capturing the Most Valuable Player award, the Orange Cap as the tournament’s leading run-scorer with 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30, and the Emerging Player honor. Serving as Ishan Kishan’s deputy, he took on the role of East Zone vice-captain for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy.
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In July, he made his T20 International debut against England in Manchester, becoming India’s youngest men’s cricketer. Sooryavanshi was last seen in action during India’s T20I tour of New Zealand, scoring 49 runs in two matches. His father, Sanjeev, spoke about the latest milestone to AFP, according to Geo Super.
“We were hopeful that he will achieve this feat,” Sanjeev told AFP over the phone, adding, “We hope that one day he will lead the national cricket team.”
Sooryavanshi is expected to play one more match in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy before reporting to the India A squad for the ACC Rising Stars Emerging tournament in Doha, which begins on November 19.
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