Vaibhav Sooryavanshi showcased his passion for bowling in the 2026 Duleep Trophy, delivering a standout 2โforโ11 spell in three overs at an economy of 3.67 for East Zone after the followโon.
15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi rose to prominence with his flamboyant batting skills, making him an overnight sensation. But what fans often miss is that he has a keen passion for bowling and often rolls his arm whenever the young opening batter gets a chance.
Vaibhav recently displayed incredible bowling magic in the 2026 Duleep Trophy. Representing the East Zone in a play-off clash, the 15-year-old picked up a 2-for-11 spell in three overs at an economy of 3.67 after the team enforced the follow-on.
What Caibhav couldn’t do with the bat, he made up for with his standout spell with the ball.
‘Ishan Bhaiya felt he was taking a risk’
In a video shared by BCCI domestic on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), Vaibhav explained that batters enjoy bowling just as bowlers enjoy batting. He added that Ishan Kishan thought that giving him the ball was a risk, but confidently considered himself a ‘wicket-taker.’
Vaibhav added that there is no greater enjoyment than when a batter takes a wicket.
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More from Firstcricket“If you ask batters, they always enjoy bowling. A batter bowling or a bowler batting is enjoyable for the player. Wickets weren’t falling for the opposing team. Thus, I was asked to bowl two or three overs. Ishan Bhaiya felt like he was taking a risk by giving me the ball. But he doesn’t know that I am a wicket-taker.
“In my mind, I only thought that even if I take five wickets, I am only getting three overs to bowl. I tried to bowl as best as I could, in one spot, and to finish my spell. It was a lot of fun because batting didn’t go so well in the last match, so contributing to the team with the ball was fun. When a batter takes a wicket, there is no greater enjoyment than that,” Sooryavanshi cheekily said in a video shared by BCCI.
East Zone secure Duleep Trophy semis spot
East Zone delivered a power-packed performance, scoring 467 in the first innings. In response, the North East Zone were bowled out at 111, with EZ enforcing a follow-on.
Abhijit Sarkar clinched a five-wicket haul, while Shahbaz Ahmed picked up three wickets to rattle the North East Zone batters in the first innings, while Anukul Roy and Vaibhav paired up with Mukesh Kumar, Abhijit and Shahbaz to restrict the NE Zone batters to 146 in the second innings,
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East Zone won the play-off match by an innings and 210 runs to advance to the semifinal. They will now face Central Zone in the semifinal on Sunday, August 30, at 09:30 AM IST.