Ajit Agarkar will be in Chennai from September 6-10. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi may not be there.
Come Sunday, Chennai’s MA Chidambaram Stadium will host the 2026 Duleep Trophy final between South Zone and East Zone. Sooryavanshi is part of the East Zone side and is also the team’s vice-captain. However, in a tournament where the 15-year-old was given an opportunity to prove his red-ball credentials and show that he is more than just a T20 star, he could now miss the final, with his participation dependent on India head coach Gautam Gambhir.
It is not just Sooryavanshi. According to a report by news agency PTI, the teenager, along with South Zone skipper Tilak Varma and East Zone captain Ishan Kishan, could miss the Duleep Trophy final. The trio have all been picked for India’s T20I series against Afghanistan, which begins in New Delhi on September 13, and the squad members are required to assemble in the national capital by September 9.
“The Indian team will assemble in Delhi on either September 9 or 10. If the head coach wants all three to report as per the T20I team’s itinerary, then the trio can’t play. But if the head coach wants them to play the final and report to Delhi on September 10 late evening, they can also do that,” a BCCI source privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Should Gambhir call Sooryavanshi back from his red-ball assignment, it would be a significant opportunity missed for the youngster to prove his worth in front of Agarkar, who will be present in Chennai to assess the players in the Duleep Trophy final.
Sooryavanshi has already made an impression in the tournament, scoring 92 in the first innings and 40 in the second in East Zone’s semifinal win over Central Zone. The 15-year-old also became the youngest batter to score a fifty in Duleep Trophy history.
Agarkar, meanwhile, was not present at Thursday’s all-important BCCI review meeting in Mumbai due to family commitments. However, the PTI report confirmed that the chief selector will travel to Chennai to watch the Duleep Trophy final.
While Sooryavanshi’s availability remains uncertain, the selectors have asked three experienced India players — KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal and Mohammed Siraj — to turn out for South Zone.
“Rahul, Padikkal and Siraj do not have any competitive cricket right now. The national selectors want any India player who is available to play the Duleep Trophy final. The trio played last on August 27. The next they will play is September 27 against the West Indies in the ODIs.
“Now Padikkal is not a part of ODIs so he might play the India A series. But the Duleep final… if there is a chance, they should play,” the BCCI source said.
