In a surprising move, the Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) has appointed Vaibhav Suryavanshi as vice-captain of the Ranji Trophy side for the first two matches of the upcoming 2025-2026 season. The 14-year-old will deputize for captain Sakibul Gani as Bihar opens their campaign in Plate Group on October 15. They will play Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur in the first two encounters of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season.
Suryavanshi came into the limelight after his success for Rajasthan Royals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) earlier this year and continued to impress on the international stage with the India U-19 team during their tours of England and Australia.
With a strike rate of over 206 runs, Suryavanshi took the world by storm as he became the youngest ever to score an IPL hundred. He finished IPL 2025 with 252 runs in seven matches. Against England U-19, Suryavanshi had scored the fastest hundred in youth ODIs. Suryavanshi's hundred on Australian soil came in the first Youth Test in Brisbane.
Suryavanshi's appointment as vice-captain came just days after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) directed the BCA to appoint a selector on an ad-hoc basis, besides a five-member selection committee, as soon as possible.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi is unlikely to play the entire Ranji season
Despite being made vice-captain of Bihar, Suryavanshi may not play the entire Ranji Trophy season. After making his Ranji Trophy debut at the age of 12 in January 2024, Suryavanshi has played just five matches so far, scoring 100 runs in 10 innings thanks to his commitment to the national team.
In the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, Suryavanshi is also likely to miss a few matches as the left-hander is tipped to be picked for the India U-19 World Cup squad, which starts in early 2026.
Bihar Ranji Trophy Selection 2025-26
Piyush Kumar Singh, Bhashkar Dubey, Sakibul Gani (Captain), Vaibhav Suryavanshi (Vice Captain), Arnav Kishor, Ayush Loharuka, Bipin Saurabh, Amod Yadav, Nawaz Khan, Sakib Hussain, Raghvendra Pratap Singh, Sachin Kumar Singh, Himanshu Singh, Khalid Alam, Sachin Kumar.
