New Delhi, Jun 14 : Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s breathtaking pyrotechnics in the last two editions of the IPL might have left everyone awestruck, but creating the muscle memory for his wide range took six years of gruelling work. According to his childhood coach, Manish Ojha, the young batter practiced for eight hours daily, facing 100 overs.
World cricket’s most exciting batting sensation at 15 and half years has already received India call-up for the T20I tour of United Kingdom after a stupendous IPL season when he emerged as the top scorer with 776 runs at a eye-popping strike-rate of 237 plus.
Ojha, who trained Sooryavanshi from the age of eight at his academy in Patna, about the hard work put in by his ward and the sacrifices made by his parents Sanjeev and Aarti. He also revealed how parents are now flocking to academies with kids as young as five, with an aim to turn their off-springs into ‘Next Vaibhav’.
But it is easier said than done, Ojha maintained.
So once Sooryavanshi switched from tennis to hardball, how many balls would he face on an average since age 10? Ojha’s answer would blow away everyone.
“See, we don’t count the balls, how many balls he played, but I will give you a minimum estimate, that he played more than 600 balls,” Ojha told .
He then gave a break-up of how they segregated the 100 overs during a day’s training.
“I’ll tell you how. Around 200-300 balls, I used to give throwdowns all by myself. And when I got tired, there were other support staff, they used to help me.
“And when they got tired, there were bowlers from our academy, they used to help them. And sometimes even they got exhausted and if there was time still left, they used to make 2-3 groups, and whatever was told to them, they used to bowl,” Ojha gave a detailed account of his famous ward’s practice.
“It included deliveries during net sessions, the throw downs and sometimes, he used to face the bowling machine. This practice used to start from 7.30 am, and used to go on till 4 pm,” Ojha said, giving some mind numbing statistics about his training even when he was sometime away from pre-teens.
The former cricketers talk about his bat swing and the follow through which creates a beautiful arc that ensures that the ball goes the distance. Ojha believed six years of repetitive training has created a muscle memory.
“So this practice, which Vaibhav did, he did it for a long time, and you are doing the same thing, you are doing it again and again, so your skill set is good, and plus, you are focusing on it, a dedicated resource person, is working with you, and you are following the right technical parameters, so it gives you a positive output, which is happening with Vaibhav,” Ojha explained.
Ojha also believed that Sooryavanshi has been brought up with very good values and his parents have made their share of sacrifices in building a champion player that he has become.
“See, without the parents’ support, nothing is possible,” Ojha was very straight and to the point.
“I always say, there were many coaches in Bihar, but Sanjeev ji chose me, so I will always be indebted to him. There are many coaches in Bihar and I was not a well-known coach at that time nor did I have much experience in coaching, but he chose me, and that too, just for my training, so it was a matter of respect for me,” Ojha recalled the time when a eight year-old tiny kid came to his academy all the way from Samastipur, a two and half hour one-way drive.
“I was very surprised that a kid from Samastipur will come and play, so for me, it was more than coaching, it was a matter of reputation, that a kid is coming from so far, so I should at least pass on whatever skill set I have,” he said.
Ojha also revealed how the young boy’s mother Aarti would prepare lunch for 10-15 people before the father-son duo left for Patna at around 5 am in the morning.
“His mother used to get up at 2 am or 2.30 am in the morning and would prepare lunch. Not just for Vaibhav or his father or their driver but also for couple of bowlers who used to come with them. Then there were net bowlers in our academy too.
“Also there were a lot of kids who didn’t get much support from home, so they used to bring lunch for such kids and feed them,” Ojha fondly recalled.
“If good bowlers who got tired, forgot to bring their lunch, they would share Vaibhav’s food. So 10-15 people used to come regularly, and you understand that getting up at 2 am in the morning, and making food for so many people, you have to understand how big a contribution it is,” he added.
Ojha said that parents are now coming to his academy with their kids as young as five after looking at Sooryavanshi’s graph.
“Aap 9-10 saal ke bacche ke baat kar rahe ho. In today’s date, parents with kids aged five are coming to the academy. Vaibhav, in a way, has become an inspiration for the parents of the whole of India, he has become an inspiration for the children, has become a role model,” he added.
