Bihar will kick off their SMAT campaign against Saurashtra on November 14.
Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named captain of Bihar's senior men's team for the first two matches of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2026-27.
The Bihar Cricket Association (BCA) confirmed the appointment on Friday (November 6), handing the leadership reins to the 15-year-old prodigy at a time when he is fighting hard to seal a place in India's T20I playing XI.
Bihar will kick off their SMAT campaign against Saurashtra on November 14, followed by a clash against Railways on November 16.
The 17-member squad is captained by Sooryavanshi with Suraj Kashyap serving as vice-captain. The team features wicket-keepers Ayush Loharuka and Anmol Kumar, alongside a full roster including Alok Kumar, Altamash Ashraf, and Shakib Hussain (subject to fitness), while Mangal Mahour's inclusion is also dependent on fitness.
BCA president Harsh Vardhan highlighted several key expectations and reasons for appointing Sooryavanshi to a leadership role.
"Vaibhav has already demonstrated tremendous talent, confidence and maturity at a young age, and this responsibility will provide him with another opportunity to grow as a cricketer and leader.
"We are hopeful that under Vaibhav's leadership, the team will deliver a disciplined, competitive and effective performance while representing the state in the upcoming season," Harsh said, as quoted by IANS.
Bihar's squad was finalised at a meeting of the BCA's senior men's selection committee after trials held from November 4 to 6 and a review of past performances. Committee Chairman Harvinder Singh and member Amitabh Vijayvargiya attended the meeting, while selector S. Sarath joined via a telephonic call.
Apart from the squad, the BCA announced a 16-member standby list and confirmed that the support staff will travel with the team throughout the tournament.
Bihar squad: Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (captain), Suraj Kashyap (vice-captain), Alok Kumar, Ayush Loharuka (wk), Altamash Ashraf, Param Kumar Singh, Anmol Kumar (wk), Ritwik Raj, Mayank Kumar, Raghvendra Pratap, Ashish Kumar, Vasudev Pratap Singh, Mohammad Izhar, Amod Yadav, Prashant Singh, Nawaz Khan, Himanshu Singh.
Subject to fitness: Mangal Mahour, Shakib Hussain.
Standbys: Bipin Saurabh, Suman Kumar, Akash Raj, Khalid Alam, Bhaskar Dubey, Kumar Rajnish, Suyash, Abhijeet Saket, Yashasvi Rishabh, Lakhan Raja, Pawan Kumar, Amit Chaudhary, Piyush Singh, Bhanu Kumar, Lokesh Babulal Kumar, Prashant Srivastava.
(With IANS Inputs)