The responsibility on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s shoulders doubled on Sunday morning when he took over as the East Zone captain during the Duleep Trophy semi-final against defending champions Central Zone in Bengaluru.

In one of the rarest scenes on the cricket field, the 15-year-old Sooryavanshi took charge as skipper during the 19th over of the Central Zone innings after an injury to East Zone captain Ishan Kishan.

Kishan was struck by a ball on his right wrist during wicket-keeping duties. He received attention from the physios before walking off the field for more medical attention. Kishan was soon seen with a strapping on his hand, with his Jharkhand teammate Kumar Kushagra taking over as the wicket-keeper.

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Winning the toss earlier in the day, East Zone skipper Kishan opted to bowl first. The team made early inroads with Tripura seamer Abhijit Sarkar dismissing opener Aman Mokhade (8) and Kunal Chandela (6), leaving the Rajat Patidar-led Central Zone two down at 36.

This is the first instance of Sooryavanshi taking over as captain of a senior men’s side. The 15-year-old is only featuring in his second Duleep Trophy match and 10th First-Class match since making a historic debut as one of the youngest players ever in the format during the Ranji Trophy in early 2024.

Sooryavanshi had a forgettable outing with the bat during East Zone’s first-round win over North East Zone. Batting first on his Duleep Trophy debut, the dashing left-hander was dismissed for 8. He would, however, chip in with the ball, picking up two wickets during an innings victory.

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Overall in nine First-Class games, the southpaw has aggregated 215 runs at an average of 16.53 with a solitary half-century.