Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named the captain of the senior Bihar men’s team. Bihar take on Saurashtra in their campaign opener. He will lead the side in their first two matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026. The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) announced a 17-member squad for the matches, starting November 14. On November 16, the side faces Railways. The opportunity to lead the state team comes at a crucial time for the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who is fighting hard to seal a place in India’s T20I side.
“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. The captaincy comes on the back of a remarkable rise for Sooryavanshi. Those exploits earned him a place in the India T20I side, and he became the youngest international cricketer for the country by making his debut in the second game against England in Manchester in July. Committee Chairman Harvinder Singh and member Amitabh Vijayvargiya attended the meeting, while selector S. Sarath joined via a telephonic call. Mangal Mahour and pacer Shakib Hussain have also been picked, but subject to fitness. The selectors will assess them after the first two games before deciding whether they are available to play. The support staff of the state’s Ranji Trophy team will remain with the side for the whole tournament, while Harvinder and Vijayvargiya will travel to Indore to watch the matches. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (captain), Suraj Kashyap (vice-captain), Alok Kumar, Ayush Loharuka (wk), Altamash Ashraf, Param Kumar Singh, Anmol Kumar (wk), Ritwik Raj, Mayank Kumar, Raghvendra Pratap, Ashish Kumar, Vasudev Pratap Singh, Mohammad Izhar, Amod Yadav, Prashant Singh, Nawaz Khan, Himanshu Singh. Subject to fitness: Mangal Mahour, Shakib Hussain. Standbys Bipin Saurabh, Suman Kumar, Akash Raj, Khalid Alam, Bhaskar Dubey, Kumar Rajnish, Suyash, Abhijeet Saket, Yashasvi Rishabh, Lakhan Raja, Pawan Kumar, Amit Chaudhary, Piyush Singh, Bhanu Kumar, Lokesh Babulal Kumar, Prashant Srivastava. (With IANS Inputs)
BCA named Suraj Kashyap as the side’s vice-captain While announcing the 17-member squad on Friday. After helping India win the 2026 Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup by hitting 175 in the final and becoming Player of the Tournament, the left-handed batter became the leading run-getter in IPL 2026 while turning out for the Rajasthan Royals, with 776 runs coming at a strike rate of 237.30. In the recent third T20I against New Zealand, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma put on 118 without loss in the first six overs, the highest powerplay total in men’s T20Is. Bihar’s squad was finalised at a meeting of the BCA’s senior men’s selection committee on Friday after trials held from November 4 to 6 and a review of past performances. Interestingly, the BCA has also named 16 standby players.
BCA president Harsh Vardhan said the role would aid Sooryavanshi’s development as a player. “We are hopeful that under Vaibhav’s leadership, the team will deliver a disciplined, competitive and effective performance while representing the state in the upcoming season,” he said, as quoted by IANS.
