Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, 15, becomes youngest-ever captain in men's T20s

The 15-year-old batter achieved the feat during Bihar's opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Saurashtra

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, the 15-year-old batting sensation, on Saturday became the youngest-ever captain in men's T20s. He achieved the feat when he walked out to the middle for the toss in Bihar's opening Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match against Saurashtra at the Holkar Stadium in Indore.

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi becomes youngest-ever captain in men's T20s. (AP)

“It's a dream come true to be leading Bihar. I am very grateful for this opportunity,” said Sooryavanshi after winning the toss and opting to bat against Saurashtra.

The opening batter was appointed as Bihar's captain last week when the squad was announced for the T20 tournament. However, he will not be leading the team in all the games, as he will soon leave for the upcoming Rising Stars Asia Cup, which starts on November 19 in Qatar.

Sooryavanshi broke the record of Zac Vukusic, who had captained Croatia against Cyprus at 17 years and 311 days in 2025. The third spot in the list belongs to Pakistan's Taimur Ali, who made his leadership debut for Quetta Bears in the domestic T20 competition in 2009 at the age of 17 years and 358 days.

Laksh Barkania is in fourth place on the list, leading Tanzania against Kenya at 18 years and 5 days, while Noman Amjad (18 years and 24 days at the time) is in fifth place, having captained France against the Czech Republic in July 2022.

Sooryavanshi's prior leadership experience

Earlier this year, Sooryavanshi was appointed as East Zone's vice-captain for the Duleep Trophy, serving as Ishan Kishan's deputy. However, the move was not well received.

Recently, Sachin Tendulkar also opined that the youngster should not be tasked with a leadership role so early on and should be given room to breathe and settle as a player.

While replying during an Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, the Master Blaster had written, “I feel it's too early for him to become a vice-captain in the Duleep Trophy. We have to let him play more matches with the red ball and take one step at a time.”

Sooryavanshi made his India debut earlier this year on the back of a strong Indian Premier League 2026, where he hammered 776 runs for the Rajasthan Royals. However, he hasn't consistently gotten games, as the team management has stuck with the T20 World Cup-winning opening pair of Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma.

Most recently, Sooryavanshi featured in two T20Is against New Zealand. He only received a chance in the playing XI after Kishan was sidelined due to an injury. In the third T20I, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek set the record books ablaze, registering the highest-ever powerplay score (118).