Ishan Kishan doesn’t know I’m a keeper: Sooryavanshi’s cheeky claim about bowling

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may be famous for his fearless batting, but the teenage sensation also has a genuine love for bowling. The 15-year-old showed this side of his game during the Duleep Trophy quarter-final in East Zone against North East Zone and then cheekily suggested that captain Ishan Kishan had underestimated his wicket-taking ability.

Sooryavanshi got the ball as the East Zone looked for wickets after forcing Bengaluru’s follow-ups. He needed just four deliveries to make an impact and picked up two wickets in his three-over spell. The youngster dismissed Kishan Lyngdoh for 25 before removing Imliwati Lemtur three balls later. Both wickets came from his left-arm spin, with Denish Das taking the first catch and Kishan completing the second.

But for Sooryavanshi, magic meant more than just helping his team. He had always enjoyed bowling and was delighted to be given the opportunity to contribute with the ball after an unsuccessful spell with the bat. “If you ask the batsmen, they always enjoy bowling. Bat bowling or bowler’s batting is enjoyable for the players. The wickets were not falling. So I was asked to bowl two or three overs. Ishan bhaiya felt he was taking a risk by giving me the ball. But he doesn’t know that I am a wicket-vanshilyek shared video,” So.

The fifteen-year-old was looking forward to making the most of his opportunity. Even though only a few overs were expected from him, Sooryavanshi believed he could still make a significant contribution.

“I just thought in my mind that even if I take five wickets, I’ll only get three overs to bowl. I tried to bowl as best I could in one spot and finish my spell. It was a lot of fun because the batting didn’t work that well in the last game, so it was fun to contribute to the team with the ball. There’s no greater joy when a batsman has a wicket,” Soashi said.

Sooryavanshi’s bowling hit came after a disappointing outing with the bat. The left-hander scored eight off six balls on his Duleep Trophy debut for East Zone where he was named vice-captain.

East Zone dominated the quarterfinals. After posting 467 in their first innings, they bowled out North East Zone for 111 to force a follow on. Sooryavanshi’s two wickets helped East Zone maintain their grip on the match as they secured a 210-run victory.

These two wickets doubled Sooryavanshi’s first-class wicket haul to four. While his primary weapon remains his batting, his enthusiasm for bowling and ability to contribute left-arm spin gives him another dimension as he continues to develop his game.

Sooryavanshi will be next in action for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone in Bengaluru starting on Sunday.

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Issued by:

Saurabh Kumar

Published on:

Aug 29, 2026 1:54 PM IST