BREAKING: Vaibhav Suryavanshi given huge role at 15 after NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is

Vaibhav Suryavanshi will captain Bihar in the opening two matches of the 2026‑27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the Bihar Cricket Association announced on Friday, November 6. The 15-year-old left-hander leads a 17-member squad that meets Saurashtra in Indore on November 14 and Railways there two days later. Suraj Kashyap has been appointed his deputy.

The selectors met after three days of trials to finalise the squad. Ayush Loharuka and Anmol Kumar are the wicketkeepers. Mangal Mahour and Shakib Hussain were picked subject to fitness, to be reviewed after the first two games. Bihar are in Elite Group B with Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Railways, Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu.

“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,” BCA president Harsh Vardhan said.

Leadership is not entirely new. Suryavanshi was East Zone's Duleep Trophy vice-captain under Ishan Kishan and took charge when Kishan went off injured. East Zone won that title on a 372-run first-innings lead after the final against South Zone in Chennai was drawn.

Vaibhav Suryavanshi's year has moved fast: 175 in the Under-19 World Cup final against England and the Player of the Tournament award, then 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30 to top the IPL 2026 charts for the Rajasthan Royals, then a T20I debut in Manchester in July that made him India's youngest men's international. He has played 44 T20s, seven for Bihar, including an unbeaten 108 off 61 balls against Maharashtra at Eden Gardens last season.

How did Vaibhav Suryavanshi perform in NZ vs IND 2026 T20Is?

Vaibhav Suryavanshi played twice in India's five-match T20I series in New Zealand last month. Promoted to open in the third T20I in Wellington on October 27, he made 45 off 19 balls with four fours and four sixes, adding 133 in 7.1 overs with Abhishek Sharma, who struck 113 off 38.

India's 118 without loss in the powerplay was the highest six-over total in men's T20Is, beating Romania's 116 against Serbia, and they chased 199 in 13.2 overs. Matthew Fisher dismissed him in the eighth over, caught at long-on.

Suryavanshi made 4 in the second T20I batting at No. 3. India, 3‑0 up after Wellington, lost in Auckland by 87 runs and in Hamilton by seven wickets, but took the series 3‑2. He joins a Bihar side that lost all four matches in the first phase of the 2026‑27 Ranji Trophy.

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