‘I am a wicket-taker’: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enjoys surprise bowling role

India’s teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi enjoyed an unexpected change of role in East Zone’s opening match of the Duleep Trophy 2026, making an impact with the ball after being asked to bowl against North East Zone.

The 15-year-old, who usually makes headlines with his batting, picked up two wickets in a three-over spell in the second innings as East Zone secured a massive innings-and-210-run victory on Tuesday.

Speaking in a video shared by BCCI Domestic, Sooryavanshi said he enjoyed the chance to bowl after not having much success with the bat in the match.

“If you ask any batter, they always enjoy bowling. A batter always enjoys bowling and a bowler always enjoys batting equally,” he said.

‘I am a wicket-taker’

Sooryavanshi, who was named vice-captain of the East Zone side under captain Ishan Kishan, said Kishan turned to him when North East Zone were managing to stay at the crease.

The Bihar youngster joked that Kishan may have thought he was taking a chance by handing him the ball.

“Their wickets weren’t falling, so I was asked to bowl two or three overs. Ishan bhaiya felt like he was taking a risk, but he didn’t know that I am a wicket-taker,” Sooryavanshi said.

The teenager, who bowls occasional left-arm spin, quickly proved his point. He dismissed Kishan Lyngdoh by tempting him into playing an aerial shot, with the catch taken at deep cover.

Three balls later, Sooryavanshi struck again when Imliwati Lemtur edged the ball behind. Kishan completed the catch to give the youngster his second wicket of the spell.

‘It was a lot of fun’

Sooryavanshi said he kept his approach simple because he knew he would have only a few overs to make an impact.

“I had only one thing in my mind: even if I take five wickets, I’m only going to get to bowl three overs. So the plan was to bowl as well as I could, target one spot and finish my spell well,” he said.

The batter has now taken four wickets in first-class cricket. His batting, however, did not have the same impact in the match, as he was dismissed for eight in East Zone’s only innings.

Still, he was happy to contribute with the ball.

“It was a lot of fun because batting didn’t go so well in the match. So contributing with the ball was great. And when a batter takes a wicket, there’s no greater enjoyment than that,” he said.