Why 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took over as East Zone stand-in captain in Duleep Trophy semi-final

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (Screengrabs) Teenage sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi took on a new responsibility on Sunday as he captained East Zone for the first time in senior first-class cricket during their Duleep Trophy semi-final against Central Zone.15-year-old Sooryavanshi, who is normally the East Zone vice-captain, stepped in after regular skipper Ishan Kishan was forced off the field with a thumb injury and kept wickets. Kumar Kushagra replaced Kishan at the stumps while Sooryavanshi temporarily took over the leadership of the team.

Sooryavanshi accepts the lead role

The youngster has been one of the highlights of the Duleep Trophy campaign in the East Zone. Despite managing just eight runs in the quarter-final against North East Zone, he impressed with the ball by taking two wickets.Sooryavanshi later spoke about his experience of bowling and taking charge of the team.“If you ask any batsman, he always enjoys bowling. A batsman always enjoys bowling and a bowler always enjoys batting equally,” Sooryavanshi said in a video released by BCCI Domestic.The teenager also revealed that Kishan jumped at the chance by giving him the ball and described himself as a “keeper”.“Opposition wickets were not falling so I was asked to bowl two or three overs. Ishan Bhaiya felt he was taking a risk but he didn’t know I was a keeper,” he added.

The East Zone is off to a strong start

East Zone won the toss and decided to bowl first against Rajat Patidar Central Zone. Saransh Jain has returned to the central line-up after making his debut for India in the Colombo Test against Sri Lanka recently.East’s bowlers struck early and restricted Central to 81/3 after 32 overs in the opening session. Abhijit K Sarkar took two wickets while Mukesh Kumar took one.Sarkar soon dismissed Aman Mokhade and Kunal Chandela before Mukesh dismissed the central Patidar skipper. Mohammed Shami also kept the Patidars under pressure during an intense match where East Zone controlled the opening session.