The Bihar Cricket Association named Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as captain for the team's first two matches in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026 on Friday, November 6. Suraj Kashyap was appointed vice-captain. The squad of 17 players was finalised after selection trials conducted between November 4 and 6, followed by a committee meeting on the same day.

Bihar will play Saurashtra on November 14 and Railways on November 16, with both fixtures scheduled in Indore. The captaincy role is restricted to these two games because Sooryavanshi is set to join the India A squad for the Men's Rising Stars Asia Cup immediately after.

BCA president Harsh Vardhan explained the decision to hand the 15-year-old wonderkid the leadership responsibility.

"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," Vardhan was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

"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 added.

Why is Sooryavanshi's captaincy limited to two matches?

Sooryavanshi's appointment reflects the Bihar Cricket Association's confidence in his development as a leader. The timing ensures he gains captaincy experience before departing for India A's continental tournament, balancing his domestic and national commitments.

What has Sooryavanshi achieved across formats?

The 15-year-old has established himself across multiple formats at the highest levels. In the 2026 Under-19 Men's Cricket World Cup, he scored 175 in the final and was named Player of the Tournament as India claimed the title. He made his India T20I debut against England in Manchester in July 2026, becoming India's youngest international cricketer. In a recent T20I against New Zealand, Sooryavanshi and Abhishek Sharma combined for 118 runs without loss during the first six overs, which stands as the highest powerplay total in men's T20Is.

In the Indian Premier League 2026, Sooryavanshi accumulated 776 runs at a strike rate of 237.30 while playing for Rajasthan Royals. He was appointed vice-captain of the East Zone for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy in July 2026. Earlier, he became the youngest Indian to make a T20 debut at age 13 years 241 days when he played for Bihar against Rajasthan in the 2024-25 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He was part of the Indian team that won gold at the 2026 Asian Games.

Bihar's squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026

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.