Bihar’s biggest cricket story, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, is also the first name to come out of that state after MS Dhoni and go on to play for India A.
Whether he plays for the national team or not, the 15-year-old from Samastipur has already joined an elite list and broke a 22-year dry spell for the state in which Dhoni made his debut in the 1999-2000 season and went on to represent India A and India in 2004 and become the Men in Blue’s all-time greatest captain.
Cricketers who represented Bihar and went to India or India A
| cricketer | Bihar Representation | Indian career |
| Shute Banerjee | He played for Bihar | 1 test |
| Ramesh Saxena | He played for Bihar | 1 test |
| Subroto Banerjee | He played for Bihar | 1 test, 6 ODIs |
| Saba Karim | He played for Bihar | 1 Test, 34 ODIs |
| Kirti Azad | He played for Bihar | 7 tests, 25 ODIs |
| MS Dhoni | Represented undivided Bihar | 90 Tests, 350 ODIs, 98 T20Is |
| Randy Singh | He played for Bihar | 2 ODIs |
| Prakash Bhandari | He played for Bihar | 3 tests |
| Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Represents Bihar | Selected for India A |
Dhoni remains Bihar’s biggest cricket success story
Before becoming one of the most successful captains in cricket history, the ‘Thala’ of modern cricket, Dhoni, began his first-class career with undivided Bihar during the 1999-2000 Ranji Trophy season. After Jharkhand became an independent state in 2000, it continued its internal journey with Jharkhand.
Dhoni’s rise remains the most iconic success story associated with Bihar cricket, but the state’s contribution to Indian cricket goes back much further. Players like Shute Banerjee and Ramesh Saxena represented India decades before Dhoni’s emergence, while Subroto Banerjee and Saba Karim became prominent names in the Bihar set-up in the modern era.
However, the biggest face of Bihar Cricket before Dhoni was Kirti Azad, who remained the only Bihar cricketer to win a World Cup, until of course Dhoni changed him in 2007.
Why Vaibhav’s selection feels different
What makes Vaibhav’s rise particularly significant is that it came through Bihar’s current setup after the state’s return to domestic cricket in 2018.
Unlike many previous players from the region who switched associations in search of better opportunities, Vaibhav continued to represent Bihar while rising up the national ladder. Their India A selection should therefore be seen as an important moment for the state association and a sign that the process of rebuilding Bihar cricket is beginning to bear fruit.
And if his rapid rise continues, the teenager could soon become the first active Indian men’s team player to emerge directly from Bihar’s modern cricket setup.
