Vaibhav Sooryavanshi found himself in the spotlight once again during his Duleep Trophy debut, but this time his performance with the bat was not the talking point. Instead, attention turned to his jersey, which had part of its number covered with tape.
The 15-year-old, representing East Zone as vice-captain, was seen wearing a jersey with tape covering part of the number on its back. The unusual sight quickly sparked discussion among fans on social media.
Only the digit ‘3’ was clearly visible on the back of Vaibhav’s shirt, while the rest of the number appeared to have been concealed.
There has been no official explanation for why the jersey was taped. One possibility is that the wrong number was printed on the shirt and the tape was used as a temporary solution. However, this has not been confirmed, so it would be premature to draw a definite conclusion.
The number 3 does have a special association with Vaibhav. He wears it while representing the Rajasthan Royals in the IPL and also used the same number when he made his international debut for India.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been given a significant responsibility in the Duleep Trophy, being appointed vice-captain of the East Zone side despite being only 15 years old.
Ishan Kishan is leading the team, with Vaibhav serving as his deputy. However, his first outing with the bat did not go according to plan.
Facing the North East Zone, Vaibhav scored just 8 runs from six deliveries. He began aggressively by hitting two successive boundaries but was soon dismissed after edging a delivery towards the gully region.
The young batter has developed a strong connection with the number 3 during his rapid rise in cricket. It is his established jersey number with Rajasthan Royals and was also associated with his early international appearances.
That connection is likely why the sight of only the number 3 being visible on his Duleep Trophy jersey attracted so much attention.
For now, though, the exact reason behind the taped jersey remains unclear. Whether it was a temporary fix for an incorrectly printed number or something else has not been officially established.
