Former India wicketkeeper-batter Deep Dasgupta has slammed the decision to appoint 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as East Zone’s vice-captain for the 2026-27 Duleep Trophy. The domestic tournament will begin on August 23. On July 29, East Zone announced their squad, with Ishan Kishan named captain as well. The team also includes experienced players such as Abhimanyu Easwaran, Anukul Roy, Mukesh Kumar, and Mohammed Shami as well.

Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel (Deep Dasgupta), he said, “I don’t agree with this decision. There are players in this team, like Anukul, who have been playing for several years. They could have been given that leadership role. I do agree that, despite being just 15 or 16 years old, he is extremely mature. There’s no doubt about that. But I don’t think there was any need to make this move at this stage, especially in red-ball cricket.”

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“It is beyond me, absolutely beyond me, that you make someone who has only recently started playing red-ball cricket, and is still very young, the vice-captain of an East Zone team. He hasn’t even established himself in red-ball cricket yet. He doesn’t have enough numbers at that level, and he hasn’t played many matches either. So, just let him play first. Let him establish himself,” he again shared.

However, Deep Dasgupta also expressed his pleasure at seeing Vaibhav Sooryavanshi play red-ball cricket but he also shared his displeasure with the leadership role given to him, saying that the team should let him play first as well.

“One good thing is that he’s playing red-ball cricket. I’ve always been worried, especially with a talent like Vaibhav, that he might give up red-ball cricket and focus only on white-ball cricket. So I’m very glad that he’s playing red-ball cricket and representing the East Zone. But I was very, very surprised by this decision. I don’t agree with it. Let him play first. Let him establish himself,” he concluded.