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NEW DELHI: A poor outing with the bat did not stop Vaibhav Sooryavanshi from making an impact in the Duleep Trophy. The 15-year-old East Zone vice-captain rolled up his sleeves and picked up two wickets in the space of four balls against North East Zone in the quarter-final at the BCCI Centre of Excellence Ground 2 in Bengaluru.Sooryavanshi had faced only six balls and scored eight runs before being dismissed by North East Zone pacer Bishworjit Konthoujam in East Zone’s first innings. But he responded with the ball, needing only eight deliveries to take his first wicket.
Two wickets in four balls
Sooryavanshi claimed his third first-class wicket with the second delivery of the 28th over. He bowled a three-quarter-length delivery outside off and Kishan Lyngdoh came down the track to attack. Lyngdoh swung hard but lost his shape and got a leading edge towards cover. Substitute fielder Denish Das completed a safe catch.Three balls later, Sooryavanshi struck again. He bowled a good-length delivery around off stump to Imliwati Lemtur, who defended from the crease. The batter got a thin outside edge and wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan reacted quickly to take a sharp catch.
‘You’ve got to be patient’
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid has called for patience with Sooryavanshi, saying the young batter will need time and enough red-ball cricket to develop in the longest format.“With Vaibhav, you’ve got to be patient. He’s only 15-years-old, and from what I’ve seen of the kid, I have no doubt that given the opportunity to practice and play domestic cricket and a couple of seasons of red-ball cricket, he will be able to hold his own in a Test match team,” Dravid said on JioStar.Dravid said Sooryavanshi’s busy schedule with the Indian team could make it difficult for him to find enough time to play full domestic seasons.“Whether he’ll be able to break into the eleven with the guys already performing, that’s a different story and a tricky one.”“Whether he’ll have the time to play two full seasons of domestic cricket because he’ll be so busy playing for India in the white-ball format, I’m not sure about that. So skill-wise, I think no problem; whether they’ll be able to do it because of schedules might be a bit more tricky,” Dravid said.
Red-ball work still in progress
Sooryavanshi has already achieved plenty at the age of 15, but red-ball cricket remains an area where he is still developing. He made his first-class debut for Bihar in January 2024 at the age of 12. In eight first-class matches, he has scored 207 runs at an average of 17.25, with one half-century.However, Sooryavanshi has already enjoyed remarkable success in white-ball cricket. He scored 439 runs at the 2026 U-19 World Cup before producing a stunning IPL season for Rajasthan Royals. He smashed 776 runs in 16 matches at a strike rate of 237.31, hit 72 sixes and won the Orange Cap and MVP award.Sooryavanshi then made his senior India debut in July 2026 and impressed immediately in T20Is. The left-hander scored 151 runs in three matches against Zimbabwe at a strike rate of 196.10, including 81 off 49 balls. He also won the Player of the Series award as India completed a 2-0 series sweep.
