Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is the youngest captain in men’s T20 history at 15, and Saurashtra spoiled his first day in charge

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi won the toss in Indore on Saturday and chose to bat. At 15 years and 232 days, he had just become the youngest man to captain a side in a T20 match anywhere in the world.

The record went better than the result. Bihar made 137 for 9 in their Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy opener at the Holkar Cricket Stadium, and Jaydev Unadkat’s Saurashtra knocked them off with 21 balls to spare, winning by five wickets.

Two years younger than the old mark

The previous holder was Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, who led his country against Cyprus in August 2025 at 17 years and 311 days. Sooryavanshi has taken more than two years off that, and he has done it in India’s main domestic T20 competition.

He called the job a dream come true at the toss. Bihar named him for their first two games of the tournament, with Suraj Kashyap as his deputy.

18 off 12, and then Sakariya

His innings was short and busy. He hit two fours and a six in 18 off 12 balls, and was involved in the run-out that sent his opening partner Alok Kumar back in the third over. In the fifth, Chetan Sakariya took a return catch to remove him with the score on 35.

Bihar slipped to 39 for 3 and never got going. Prithvi Raj made 38 off 27 balls with four sixes to drag them to 137, but Sakariya (3 for 33) and Prerak Mankad (3 for 20) shared six wickets, and Krains Fuletra gave away just 10 runs in his four overs.

Saurashtra’s chase was never in doubt. Harvansh Pangalia hit 33 off 11 balls, and Ruchit Ahir and Siddhant Rana, both unbeaten on 21, took them home in 16.3 overs. Sakariya was named player of the match.

A short stay, then Doha

The captaincy will not last long. Sooryavanshi is in the India A squad for the ACC Rising Stars Asia Cup in Doha, which starts on 19 November and is a 50-over tournament this year. Tilak Varma leads that side.

Bihar could do with whatever lift he gives them. They won last season’s Plate final to get back into the Elite group, and the Ranji Trophy has been hard going since, starting with an innings defeat to Uttar Pradesh.

A year of firsts

The captaincy is the latest entry in a crowded 2026. In February he made 175 in the Under-19 World Cup final in Harare as India beat England by 100 runs. On 4 July he made his T20I debut against England at Old Trafford, becoming the youngest man to play for India. On the tour of New Zealand last month he hit 45 off 19 balls in a 133-run opening stand with Abhishek Sharma in Wellington, and India won that T20I series 3-2.

The last time he went to the Rising Stars event, in November 2025, he made 144 off 42 balls against the UAE. He was 14 then, and nobody was asking him to pick a team.

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