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Bringing up Vaibhav Suryavanshi – from net practice behind Samastipur home to IPL arclights

Vaibhav Suryavanshi in the IPL; Vaibhav (with the bat), with his elder brother Ujjwal (at the back), younger brother Ashirwad (right with toy in his hands), and his cousin. (Sportzpics and Special Arrangement)

For four years, before the sun made it to the horizon of Tajpur, a small village in Bihar’s Samastipur district, Sanjeev Suryavanshi would set off on a 90-kilometre journey to Patna with his 9-year-old son Vaibhav and a bunch of other boys – a ritual every alternate day.

“Vaibhav’s father, my brother, took him to a cricket academy in Patna three to four times a week by road, along with other local bowlers so he could practise,” said Rajeev Suryavanshi. “My sister-in-law, Aarti, woke up early to cook and pack meals for them.”

In Tajpur, a narrow lane off State Highway 49 lined with trees and greenery leads to Vaibhav’s single-storey home. Next to it is a green netted practice area, with a concrete pitch in one half and a turf pitch on the other, built by Vaibhav’s family to nurture his talent.

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