Vaibhav Sooryavanshi appointed Bihar captain for first two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy games

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been appointed captain of Bihar for the first two matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, the domestic Twenty20 cricket championship organized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India and named after former Test cricketer Syed Mushtaq Ali, who scored the first overseas Test century by an Indian player with 112 against England at Old Trafford in 1936.

The 15-year-old left-handed top-order batter will lead Bihar in senior cricket for the first time in the tournament, which begins on November 14.

Squad selection and context

The Bihar Cricket Association selection committee picked the 17-member squad following a meeting held on November 6, after trials were conducted from November 4 to 6, with selectors taking into account performances in the trials as well as past performances. Suraj Kashyap has been named vice-captain.

The squad includes Alok Kumar, Altamish Ashraf, Tarun Kumar Singh, Anmol Kumar, Prithvi Raj, Mayank Kumar, Raghavendra Pratap, Ashish Kumar, Vasudev Prasad Singh, Mohammad Izhar, Amol Yadav, Prashant Singh, Nawaz Khan and Himanshu Singh, along with wicketkeepers Anmol Kumar and Ayush Loharuka.

Bihar assistant coach Ashok Kumar told Hindustan Times that Sakibul Gani is injured, creating the opportunity for Sooryavanshi to lead, and said the teenager is ready to take up the role.

Sooryavanshi's record and next fixtures

This is Sooryavanshi's first captaincy stint in official cricket, though he previously served as vice-captain of East Zone in the Duleep Trophy, which the team won under Ishan Kishan.

When Kishan was off the field briefly in the Duleep Trophy final in Chennai in September, Sooryavanshi stood in as captain.

He has played 44 T20s so far, seven of them for Bihar, and in the previous edition of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy he hit an unbeaten 108 off 61 balls against Maharashtra at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Sachin Tendulkar recently said it is too early for Sooryavanshi to take on a leadership role and that he should be given space to find his footing as a player.

What happens next

Bihar will begin their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy campaign against Saurashtra in Indore on November 14, followed by a match against Railways on November 16. The team is in Group B alongside Delhi, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Punjab, Railways, Saurashtra and Tamil Nadu.

Bihar lost all four of their matches in the first phase of the Ranji Trophy and will now look to turn things around under Sooryavanshi.

Fast bowler Sakib Hussain, who turned heads during IPL 2025 with Sunrisers Hyderabad in April-May, may be available subject to fitness and has not played competitive cricket since that stint.

Sooryavanshi is expected to turn out for Bihar before joining the India A squad for the Rising Stars Asia Cup later this month.

Bihar squad for the first two Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy matches

Related on Apex Sports News

• India A squad for Rising Stars Asia Cup: Tilak Varma named captain, Sooryavanshi included; Harshit Rana returns

• Ranji Trophy: Vidarbha host Madhya Pradesh at Nagpur

• Meghalaya Ranji Trophy side replaced ahead of Nagaland fixture

Sources

• ESPNcricinfo

• Hindustan Times

• Photo: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain (Wikimedia Commons)