Ishan Kishan and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi: A DRS Debate After Duleep Trophy Victory
In the afterglow of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2026/27 triumph, the loudest sound around Ishan Kishan wasn’t the applause. It was laughter.
On the outfield in New Delhi, the Player of the Match — fresh off a staggering 270 in the first innings and more than 350 runs across the final — stood shoulder to shoulder with his 15-year-old deputy, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. The title had been secured against South Zone, but the two were busy debating something far more modern: who really owned the Decision Review System.
A captain, a deputy, and a DRS tug-of-war
Kishan, the senior pro and captain, couldn’t resist a playful jab. He joked that Sooryavanshi had quietly walked away with all the online credit for the side’s sharp DRS calls, even when the skipper himself was ready to pull the trigger.
“Yeh sab review mein credit le hi liya hai har jagah,” Kishan teased in a video shared on BCCI’s social media, explaining how his young deputy would stride up confidently at the crucial moments and, in the eyes of the internet, suddenly become the mastermind. “Then the internet will be like: Vaibhav! My goodness! Vaibhav is the one!”
The teenager didn’t blink. He fired straight back, reminding everyone that when the team was walking off the field, he was the one taking charge of the reviews. “Aur jab field ke bahar jaa rahe the tab kon le raha tha review? Yeh bhi toh bata dijiye!” he quipped, drawing more laughter.
It was the kind of back-and-forth that tells you more about a dressing room than any scorecard ever will.
‘Future captain, maybe?’
Behind the jokes, Kishan’s admiration for the youngster was obvious. Once the banter eased, he shifted tone and spoke about Sooryavanshi’s temperament and presence around the group.
He called him “very good to have in the team,” stressing that beyond being a talented player, the teenager is “a very nice boy who takes care of each and every one in the team, whether it's a junior player or senior.” Then came the slip — and the correction that showed just how quickly Vaibhav has grown in stature.
Kishan initially referred to him as a junior, then stopped himself with a grin: “Achha, junior toh tu hi hua, sorry, sorry.” The hierarchy, at least in spirit, had shifted.
That was followed by a line that will stick with the youngster for a long time. “Future captain, maybe? Let's see how it goes,” Kishan said, adding that he hopes Sooryavanshi will become “more dangerous” as he develops and that this performance is “not going to be his first or the last.”
For a 15-year-old, those are heavy words. The kind of endorsement that can shape a career.
Vaibhav’s view: ‘The match changed from there’
If Kishan wanted to share the spotlight, Vaibhav was having none of it when the conversation turned to that monumental 270.
He spoke of the mood in the East Zone camp, how the squad bonded off the field and translated that energy into their cricket. “The way we were off the field and the way we were enjoying inside, it was a lot of fun,” he said.
Then he turned to his captain’s innings. “The way he batted in the final, it was unbelievable. I can't say anything much about it,” Sooryavanshi admitted, before pointing to the turning point. “I think the match changed from there.”
From a 15-year-old, that’s not just praise; it’s recognition of a big-game performance and of the standard he now knows he must chase. He also underlined how much the group relished playing under Kishan’s leadership, saying “a lot of people have been watching and playing under him for a long time” and that “it was a lot of fun to play in his captaincy.”
‘The most important thing is to enjoy’
Amid the runs, reviews and rising reputations, Kishan closed the exchange with a line that revealed the core of his approach.
“The most important thing is to enjoy,” he said. “The result is not in our hands, but to enjoy as a team is very important. Sorry, the result is in our hands right now, but it's very important to enjoy.”
It was a small correction, but a telling one. East Zone had the result firmly in their grasp. They had the trophy. They had the Player of the Match. And, judging by the easy laughter between a seasoned international and a 15-year-old deputy, they might just have their future too.
