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Beyond T20 hype: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi now steps into Indian cricket's toughest audition
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi was named vice-captain of the Ishan Kishan-led East Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy.
It's Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's time in Indian cricket, and there seems to be no stopping his rise. If there were any doubts, the last seven days have all but erased them.
After putting behind the disappointment of a forgettable maiden international series in England, the 15-year-old responded in emphatic fashion on India's tour of Zimbabwe. He amassed 151 runs in three T20Is at an average of 50.33, struck two half-centuries, and walked away with the Player of the Series award as India completed a 3-0 sweep.
On Wednesday, the rewards kept coming. Sooryavanshi climbed 230 places in the ICC T20I batting rankings to break into the top 50, less than a month after making his international debut.
Hours later came another announcement—one that could prove even more significant.
Sooryavanshi was named vice-captain of the Ishan Kishan-led East Zone squad for the upcoming Duleep Trophy. On the surface, it is a leadership role. In reality, it signals something much bigger.
When Sooryavanshi set IPL 2026 ablaze by tearing apart some of the world's finest bowlers, the clamour for an India call-up became impossible to ignore. Day after day, chief selector Ajit Agarkar was asked by former cricketers and experts alike to fast-track the teenage sensation into the national side.
By the time the Bihar prodigy had crossed the 700-run mark in the IPL, his T20I debut felt inevitable. But the conversation quickly shifted.
Is Sooryavanshi an all-format player? Can he rein in his fearless T20 instincts and develop the patience and temperament required for red-ball cricket?
The cricketing world asked the question. Sachin Tendulkar publicly backed the idea in Agarkar's presence. Sooryavanshi himself admitted that Test cricket remains his ultimate ambition, recalling how his father always told him that "Test cricket is the ultimate format."
Barely two months after the IPL ended—a period during which he immersed himself in India's white-ball setup through two international tours and countless hours in the nets—the BCCI appears ready to take the next step in Project Sooryavanshi.
When the Duleep Trophy begins on August 23, Sooryavanshi is expected to make his debut in India's premier zonal first-class competition. More importantly, the selection itself suggests the BCCI is actively preparing him for a future across all three formats.
A place in India's Test XI is not on the immediate horizon, and that is unlikely to change even if he scores heavily in the tournament. But the Duleep Trophy will offer his first meaningful audition in elite red-ball cricket, where he is expected to open alongside Bengal veteran Abhimanyu Easwaran.
That is not to say Sooryavanshi is unfamiliar with the longest format. He has already played eight first-class matches, scoring 207 runs in 12 innings at an average of 17.25, with a highest score of 93. His last red-ball appearance came in a Ranji Plate fixture for Bihar against Meghalaya last year.
Whether he succeeds immediately or not is almost secondary.
The bigger takeaway is that the BCCI is no longer viewing Sooryavanshi purely through the prism of T20 cricket. By handing him a place—and responsibility—in the Duleep Trophy, the selectors have made their intentions clear: they are investing in him as an all-format cricketer. The coming weeks will test his red-ball credentials before his attention shifts back to T20 cricket for the Asian Games in September.
