Vaibhav Sooryavanshi Leads East Zone as Stand-in Captain in Duleep Trophy Semifinal

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, a 15-year-old cricketer, took on the role of stand-in captain for East Zone during the Duleep Trophy semifinal against Central Zone. This marked his first leadership experience in senior first-class cricket.

Sooryavanshi, who usually serves as the vice-captain, stepped in after regular captain Ishan Kishan sustained a thumb injury while keeping wickets. Kumar Kushagra replaced Kishan behind the stumps as Sooryavanshi led the team.

Despite scoring only eight runs in the previous quarter-final, Sooryavanshi had made an impact with the ball, taking two wickets. East Zone won the toss and opted to bowl first, restricting Central Zone to 81 runs for three wickets in the opening session, with Abhijit K Sarkar and Mukesh Kumar contributing to the early breakthroughs.