Vaibhav Sooryavanshi outsmarts Ishan Kishan's ‘risky’ call in Duleep Trophy 2026 with the ball; 'I am a wicket-taker'

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi might have disappointed with the bat in his maiden Duleep Trophy outing, but the 15-year-old made sure he contribute with the ball, during East Zone's massive win by an innings and 210 runs against North East Zone in Bengaluru earlier this week.

Batting first, East Zone rode on centuries from Sudip Gharami (146) and Shahbaz Ahmad (167) to post a massive 467. In response, North East Zone were all out for 111 before being enforced a follow-on by East Zone captain and India wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan.

North East Zone were trailing at 63/5 in the second innings, when Kishan threw the ball to Sooryavanshi to roll his arm for a few overs. The left-handed opener gave an insight into his mindset while bowling in a video that was shared by the BCCI Domestic on Saturday

It's a lot of fun - Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

“If you ask any batter, he enjoys bowling. Or if you ask a bowler, he enjoys batting," said Sooryavanshi in the video. Bowling left-arm off-spin, Sooryavanshi first got rid of Kishan Lyngdoh, who miscued a shot towards mid-wicket. Three balls later Sooryavanshi forced Imliwati Lemtur to edge behind the wickets. The teen revealed “Kishan felt he was taking a risk.”

"The opponents weren't losing wickets, so I was asked to bowl 2-3 overs. Ishan bhaiya thought that he was taking a risk in giving me the ball. But he didn't know that I'm a wicket taker,” Sooryavanshi added, with a smile. He finished with figures of 2/11 in his three overs.

“I always knew that even if I take five wickets, I will only get three overs to bowl. So I tried to bowl as well as I could. I was just trying to repeatedly land the ball in one area. It's a lot of fun. I didn't do well with the bat in the last match. So it's a lot of fun to contribute to the team's bowling,” he added.

"And of course, if a batter takes a wicket, he never enjoys it more than that. So it's a lot of fun," Sooryavanshi added.

What's next for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi?

For Sooryavanshi, he will be next up in another Duleep Trophy 2026 clash for East Zone against Central Zone in the first semifinal, that starts on August 30. While he missed out on a good batting show against North East Zone, the teen prodigy will be looking to play a longer innings.

If they East Zone manage to win the semifinal, Sooryavanshi might play in the final, starting from September 6. India are going to play three T20Is against Afghanistan on September 13, 15 and 17. However, the Indian squad for the Afghanistan series is yet to be announced.

Post the Afghanistan series, the Indian T20I side, of which Sooryavanshi is a part, will be flying out to Japan to compete at the Asian Games 2026 in Aichi and Nagoya. The cricket competition will be played in Aichi. India have been directly placed in the quarterfinals.

The Shreyas Iyer-led side will be opening their account against the Group A runners-up team on September 28 at the Kōrogi Sports Park in Nisshin. India are the defending champions in men's cricket competition at Asian Games.