Suryavanshi's toil and effort at RR's High-Performance Centre comes to the fore

Talegaon, a modest settlement about an hour's drive from Nagpur, can be infernally hot - even outside the scorching summer months. Temperatures are extreme, often soaring to unforgiving levels, making the climate anything but conducive to cricket. When cricket is played there, it won't be a casual, usual and normal net session; It would be a daunting grind involving enormous physical wear and tear.

Rajasthan Royals have chosen to establish their academy in the oppressive climes of Talegaon, because it is similar to the weather of Jaipur. It is where cricket is played relentlessly, day in and day out. The franchise's High Performance Centre (HPC) is a sprawling six-acre outdoor facility featuring over a dozen centre pitches and an additional dozen of practice strips, with soil bought from across the country to ensure diverse playing conditions. The setup even includes cement and granite surfaces to further widen the players' exposure.

A certain Yashasvi Jaiswal is a product of the demanding environment, where players - batters and bowlers alike - train for long hours, often twice a day. Regular visitors to the academy include the likes of Sanju Samson, Dhruv Jurel, and Riyan Parag among others. It was here Jurel is reported to have played for over 100 overs before debuting against England in a Test series last year. Jaiswal, it is said, tried about 300 sweeps one day.

The training cycle is intense, with coaches maintaining a laser-sharp focus on analyzing each player's strengths and weaknesses. The likes of Rahul Dravid, Vikram Rathour, Zubin Bharucha (Vaibhav Suryavanshi credited all of them for his development), and the latest recruit, Sairaj Bahutule, have all spent time overseeing training at the facility. Even Kumar Sangakkara, the franchise's director, often visits the HPC.

The initial talk about Suryavanshi after he was bought in the auction for Rs 1.1 crore was how many 13-year-old self-made crorepatis one could get to see in life, which is a record in itself. But that's a different story. The franchise believes it has struck gold with Suryavanshi (Vikram Rathour said so in almost as many words), who took the world by storm on Monday (April 28) by smashing a 35-ball century against the Gujarat Titans at the SMS Stadium in Jaipur. Speaking on Cricbuzz live, Shaun Pollock hailed it as the best individual effort in the history of the IPL.

Suryavanshi trained at the Talegaon facility for three months after the Jeddah IPL auction. Experts and pundits clearly see that efforts were made to expand his batting horizon and acquaint himself with high speed bowling, which is not normally seen at the age-group level. Those who have seen Suryavanshi on Monday night believe it was clear that he was made to face high-speed bowling by Dravid & Co. He, of course, faces Jofra Archer in the nets. Experts Cricbuzz spoke to believe that Suryavanshi may have developed the ramp shots, upper cuts and inside out hits, normally seen in experienced batters, at the academy. Some of those shots were seen over the last three matches with the pull over mid-wicket being his favourite shot.

"We have been watching him in the nets. All of us knew we have something special," Rathour, the RR batting coach, said after the match. "We knew what he was capable of and the range of shots he could play. But to do it in front of a crowd like this, in such a high-pressure situation, and against a top-quality bowling attack - it was really special. A lot of credit to him."

Since that sizzling innings, comparisons with Sachin Tendulkar have started. His 11 sixes against top class international bowling attack are drawing parallels between Tendulkar's blistering assault on Abdul Qadir in his maiden international tour, to Pakistan, way back in 1989. "It's too early to say that. It is unfair on the kid to compare him to Sachin Tendulkar. He is the new Vaibhav Suryavanshi," said Rathour, shutting all the talk of comparisons with the maestro.

"He is a special talent. He has got a great downswing (if one were to use technical jargon) that helps him generate this kind of power. Today he showed everybody how good he is. He has a solid head on his shoulder. He has a long long career ahead of him," the batting coach went on to add.

Tendulkar himself had something to say about the whizkid. "Vaibhav's fearless approach, bat speed, picking the length early, and transferring the energy behind the ball was the recipe behind a fabulous innings. End result: 101 runs off 38 balls. Well played!!," the maestro said in a social media post.

The Royals have a record of looking for young talent. Some of their young recruits, over the years, have been Samson, Jaiswal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yusuf Pathan, Parag, Jurel and Ajinkya Rahane among others. When they heard about Suryavanshi, he was invited for the trials at the academy. Under the supervision of Dravid & Co, he trained for about three months.

Once he landed there it was clear among the RR staff that he is a special talent. They have done well with him so far, working on his temperament, ability (to generate power), technique, skill, aptitude (to find placements) and fearlessness. They've also done well to shield him from the prying eyes of the media. But for how long? He's already a global sensation.