When East Zone announced their squad for the Duleep Trophy, Ishan Kishan's appointment as captain came as little surprise. The decision to name 15-year-old Vaibhav Sooryavanshi as vice-captain, though, generated considerably more discussion as, from the outside, it would appear to burden a teenager who is still finding his footing in the senior game.
Sooryavanshi, who has played only eight first-class games for Bihar, was chosen as Kishan's deputy ahead of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who has 113 first-class appearances and has captained Bengal and India A, as well as India internationals Mohammed Shami and Mukesh Kumar.
However, to members of the East Zone selection committee, the appointment was intended as a developmental step rather than a reflection of the squad's leadership hierarchy.
"We are not thinking about the present alone," Manish Vardhan, the former cricketer who is Jharkhand's representative on the East Zone selection committee, told Cricinfo. "A vice-captain gets to observe the captain closely and understand how a team is run. We wanted Vaibhav to be more involved with the group because we think it will help him as he develops.
"He's an extremely talented cricketer and is maturing steadily. Giving him this responsibility is another part of that process."
The appointment, however, does not mean Sooryavanshi would automatically captain East Zone if Kishan were unavailable or injured. Wardhan said the selectors had not discussed that scenario but indicated they would prefer an experienced player to take charge if required, while allowing Sooryavanshi to continue as vice-captain.
Wardhan said that naming Kishan captain came from a similar place. Both players are viewed as cricketers who could remain around the national setup for years, and the committee wanted them to take on greater responsibility at zonal level first.
"The vice-captain's role isn't about status," Wardhan said. "It's about what a young player can learn while working alongside the captain."
Pravanjan Mullick, the former Odisha player and the state's current selector-coach, stressed that the role should be viewed in context and added that Sooryavanshi has already been Bihar vice-captain in first-class cricket.
"Ishan is the captain and, as wicketkeeper, he is involved in every phase of the game," Mullick told Cricinfo. "This gives Vaibhav an opportunity to understand leadership without putting the responsibility of captaining the side on him. We want him to grow, maybe one day he could even captain India. That's the thought behind giving him the vice-captaincy."
As for Easwaran - who was very close to an India Test cap not long ago - Cricinfo has learnt he was deliberately not chosen to serve as vice-captain as the selection committee felt it was not appropriate for him to be second-fiddle to a far less experienced Kishan.
The 63rd edition of the Duleep Trophy, named in honour of India-born England international KS Duleepsinhji, gets underway on August 23 with East Zone taking on North-East Zone and West Zone taking on North Zone in two play-off games.
The winners of those fixtures will play South Zone and Central Zone - last season's finalists - in the semi-finals on August 30. The final is scheduled for September 5, with all games set to be played at BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Singahalli, in the outskirts of Bengaluru.