Gautam Gambhir to Decide Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s Duleep Trophy Final Participation

Dubai: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi continues to remain an emerging performer for every team he plays for. The teenage sensation showed his hot form once again for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy.

He played a key role in the domestic team's semi-final win against Central Zone, scoring 92 in the first innings before following it up with 40 in the second. Sooryavanshi also stunned everyone with his bowling as he recorded 2/11 figures against North East Zone in the quarter-final, although he scored only eight runs in that match.

Now as East Zone prepares for the final against South Zone, uncertainty around his participation has grown. As per a report from PTI, Sooryavanshi can only play in the Duleep Trophy final with the approval of India head coach Gautam Gambhir. Sooryavanshi, along with Ishan Kishan and South Zone captain Tilak Verma, is part of India’s T20I squad.

The availability of all three players will be determined by Gambhir. Veteran opener KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj will represent the South Zone. The trio won't face the same issue as they have no competitive cricket scheduled before India’s ODI series against West Indies which begins on September 27.

The PTI report also suggests that national selectors want available India players to feature in the Duleep Trophy final. However, the participation of Sooryavanshi, Kishan and Tilak solely lie on Gambhir’s decision.

India’s T20 squad is expected to assemble in Delhi on either September 9 or 10. If Gambhir wants the three players to follow the national team plans, they will miss the final on September 6. Otherwise, they could play in Chennai before reporting to the Indian Cricket team.