In the afterglow of East Zone’s Duleep Trophy 2026/27 triumph in New Delhi, the most telling image wasn’t of a trophy lift or a scoreboard. It was of a captain and his teenage deputy locked in a mock argument over who really nailed the DRS calls.
Ishan Kishan, fresh from a final for the ages, and 15-year-old vice-captain Vaibhav Sooryavanshi shared the kind of easy laughter that usually belongs to street cricket, not a first-class showpiece. It said everything about the mood in the East Zone camp — relaxed, fearless, and completely in tune.
A final owned by Kishan
Kishan didn’t just lead; he dominated. More than 350 runs across two innings, anchored by a staggering 270 in the first. A statement knock, even by his attacking standards, and enough to seal the Player of the Match award without debate.
He had shredded South Zone’s plans, turned the final on its head and then, when the formalities were done, turned the spotlight towards the kid standing next to him.
On a video posted by BCCI’s social media, Kishan joked that while he might have been the one ready to press the review button, it was Sooryavanshi who kept swooping in and walking away with the credit.
He painted the scene with a grin: the teenager striding up, speaking with total conviction, and the internet instantly anointing him as the DRS mastermind. “Vaibhav! My goodness! Vaibhav is the one!” Kishan laughed, making it clear he was delighted with how confidently the youngster had embraced the role.
The captain’s teasing had an edge of admiration. For a 15-year-old to take ownership in pressure moments, even over something as specific as DRS, says plenty about temperament.
The deputy fires back
Sooryavanshi didn’t just stand there and smile politely. He fired back with his own line, reminding Kishan that when the team was heading off the field, he was the one taking charge of the reviews then as well.
It was a small exchange, but it crackled with the kind of chemistry coaches dream about: a senior pro completely at ease sharing space and credit, and a teenager confident enough to poke back.
Kishan quickly shifted from banter to praise. He spoke openly about Sooryavanshi’s leadership instincts, even floating the idea of him as a “future captain” and stressing how valuable it is to have someone who looks after everyone in the dressing room — junior or senior.
Then came the playful correction. As he referred to Sooryavanshi as a junior, Kishan stopped himself, laughing as he acknowledged that the youngster had already outgrown that tag in this setup. Performances and presence had done the talking.
For Kishan, the trait that stood out wasn’t just skill. It was the way Vaibhav cared for the group, the way he made sure every player felt included. He hoped, he said, that the teenager would only grow “more dangerous” as his career unfolded, and he backed him to produce many more performances like this one.
Respect from the other side of the hierarchy
If Kishan had spent the interview elevating his deputy, Sooryavanshi responded with the kind of respect that underpins strong dressing rooms.
He spoke about the atmosphere in the East Zone camp — the fun off the field, the joy on it — and then circled back to the innings that changed everything. The way Kishan batted in the final, he said, was “unbelievable,” the clear turning point in the contest.
From there, the match followed Kishan’s tempo. As captain, he had players who had been watching him, playing under him, learning from him for a long time. For Sooryavanshi, being part of that environment, inside that circle of trust, was “a lot of fun.” The word kept returning: enjoyment.
It wasn’t a rehearsed line. It felt like the natural outcome of a campaign where senior and junior blurred into one unit, where a 15-year-old could walk into a huddle and call a review, and nobody blinked.
Enjoyment as a philosophy
Kishan ended the exchange with a line that sounded simple but revealed the core of his leadership. Enjoy the game. Enjoy it together.
He acknowledged the old cliché that results lie beyond a team’s control, then caught himself and twisted it with a smile — this time, the result had been in their hands. Even so, he insisted, the priority remained the same: to enjoy playing as a group.
That mindset had just carried East Zone to a title. It had freed their captain to play one of the great Duleep Trophy final knocks. It had allowed a 15-year-old vice-captain to stand beside him, argue about DRS with a straight face, and look entirely at home in the moment.
If this is what East Zone looks like when they’re simply “enjoying” themselves, the rest of the domestic circuit will be watching that Kishan–Sooryavanshi partnership very closely in the seasons to come.
