Aaryavir, a Rishabh Pant fan, learnt to refrain from copying father Sehwag

India's young talent

When Virender Sehwag dropped his 11-year-old son Aaryavir at the Sonnet Cricket Club eight years ago, he made just one request to the coaches, the late Tarak Sinha and Devender Sharma. “Don’t hesitate to be strict with him.

He is just another kid learning cricket here. That's all he told us,” Devender told TOI.“Viru barely called us to enquire about how his sons were coached. He must have talked to them personally but never interfered in our job. The only time he made a call about Aaryavir’s cricket was during the Covid lockdown. He shot some videos of some of his batting drills and sent them to us to check,” he added.Aaryavir was given a swanky car to come to the ground, but the chauffer was strictly instructed against carrying his kit bags.

Be it the cricket gear or the food he ate there, nothing was special. His demeanour didn’t give him away as the son of one of India’s greatest match-winners.

Now, over the last 10 days in Al Amerat in Oman, Aaryavir has taken significant steps towards developing his own identity. His ended as the player of the tournament, scoring 361 runs.Like his father did in his first big final against England at Lord’s in 2002, Aaryavir set up India’s big chase at the top of the order on Saturday with 58 off 61 balls.

“Since I got out in the last match against them (Pakistan), I wanted to score today, regardless of copping a blow on my arm. I knew if I stayed in the middle, it would keep building the pressure on Pakistan,” Aaryavir words after the final were reminiscent of Sehwag's unfettered ways.It’s worth noticing that Aaryavir’s runs have not come in the same menacing way that the senior Sehwag was known for. “He has learnt to refrain from copying Viru,” Devender, who has played U-19 and first-class cricket with Sehwag, told TOI. Instead, Aaryavir used to be in awe of Rishabh Pant. “He used to go home and keep talking about Rishabh. Whenever Rishabh came for practice, he would intently watch him,” Devender said."There is some obvious reflection of Viru's talent in him. One must understand Viru was a freak and a beast. But Aaryavir is a very cerebral cricketer. When he first came, he compulsively tried to smack every ball off the front foot because he may have seen highlights of his father's batting," said Devender. "But, he likes to have deep discussions on cricket and tried to understand why he was getting out quickly. He realised the importance of being a good off the back foot and playing square of the wicket just like his father did.

I am pleased that he scored a 160 in this tournament because he has been working hard on cracking the code to construct big innings," he added.Devender emphasizes on Viru's lack of interference in how both his sons are raised in the cricket field and helped them develop their individuality. Sehwag's uncluttered mind helped him revel as a player. Aaryavir may have done his bit in shedding some of the burden of carrying his father's name. It's time to build on it!