Vaibhav Suryavanshi, an exceptionally talented teenage cricketer, has been named vice-captain of the Bihar team for the first two rounds of the 2025–26 Ranji Trophy, which will kick off on October 15. The 14-year-old batting prodigy will work alongside captain Sakibul Gani as Bihar tries to come back from an uneventful winless season last year.
The announcement was made just a few days ahead of the start of the season, and amid the chaos at the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) which was forced to appoint an ad hoc selector to round out a three-member selection panel after a directive from the BCCI. The BCA was told to form a five-member selection panel with the utmost urgency.
Suryavanshi’s selection reflects his outstanding performances for India Under-19 in the past few months. He was in especially great form as part of the youth teams that had tours of England and Australia, proving his aptitude as a powerful run-scorer at the top of the order. In Australia, for example, he scored a 78-ball century in the first four-day match in Brisbane, and finished as the second-leading run-scorer in the series with 133 runs in three innings while helping India defeat Australia 2-0 in the series.
Earlier in England, Suryavanshi struck 143 in Worcester – the fastest century in youth ODIs and was atop the series leaders with 355 runs at an amazing strike rate of 174.01.
Even with his youth and limited first-class experience, five matches total meaning only 100 runs of experience, Suryavanshi has made his name on the bigger stage. He made headlines earlier this year in the IPL by scoring 101 off 38 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Gujarat Titans, making him the youngest centurion in men’s T20 cricket history. At only 13 years of age, he was already the youngest player to be picked in an IPL auction.
In IPL 2025, Suryavanshi opened in seven matches and scored 252 runs at a strike rate of 206.55.
The availability of the teenager for the full Ranji season is still in question since he will possibly miss quite a few domestic matches due to his commitments with the national youth team. The Under-19 World Cup is slated for early 2026.
Bihar, who were relegated to the Plate league after a miserable 2024–25 season without a win and just one point from seven games, are pinning their hopes on Suryavanshi’s talent to turn their fortunes around. They will begin their campaign against Arunachal Pradesh in Patna, before taking on Manipur in Nadiad on October 25.
There have been tentative rumors about Suryavanshi possibly heading to a more prestigious state side in later seasons, but the BCA is determined to keep him and build their revival around his burgeoning talent.
Bihar Ranji Trophy 2025–26 Squad:
Piyush Kumar Singh, Bhashkar Dubey, Sakibul Gani (capt), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (vice-capt), Arnav Kishor, Ayush Loharuka, Bipin Saurabh, Amod Yadav, Nawaz Khan, Sakib Hussain, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Sachin Kumar Singh, Himanshu Singh, Khalid Alam, Sachin Kumar
