India’s Sooryavanshi becomes youngest captain in men’s T20 history

India batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi became the youngest captain in men’s Twenty20 history at 15 years and 232 days after leading Bihar in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, India’s domestic T20 competition, on Saturday.

The teenager surpassed Croatia’s Zach Vukusic, who previously held the record after captaining his national side at 17 years and 311 days.

Sooryavanshi became India’s youngest men’s international in July when he made his T20 debut against England in Manchester, eclipsing Sachin Tendulkar’s long-standing record.

He made his debut at 15 years and 99 days, becoming the 122nd player to represent India in men’s T20Is.

The left-hander has played 10 T20Is, scoring 295 runs, including two half-centuries.

Sooryavanshi earned his first senior call-up after a rapid rise that included a blistering 35-ball century in the Indian Premier League (IPL) last year. He also scored a 58-ball century in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year.

He continued his rise in this year’s IPL, finishing as the tournament’s leading run-scorer, striking at more than 237 and setting a competition record with 72 sixes.

He was previously named vice-captain of East Zone for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy, serving as deputy to Ishan Kishan.

Sooryavanshi achieved the latest milestone during Bihar’s opening match of the 2026-27 Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy against Saurashtra at Holkar Stadium in Indore.

His side won the toss and elected to bat but managed only 18 runs off 12 deliveries before being caught and bowled by left-arm pacer Chetan Sakariya.