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By:

Waleed Hussain

4 March 2025 at 2:34:30 pm

The Taming of the Teen Tornado

In the high-octane circus of the Indian Premier League, few phenomena have exploded onto the scene quite like Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Bihar prodigy, still a teenager at 15, burst into global consciousness in IPL 2025 as the youngest debutant and centurion in T20 history. His 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans wasn’t just a knock; it was a declaration of intent from a player who treats boundaries as birthrights and bowlers as mere target practice. With a career strike rate hovering...

The Taming of the Teen Tornado

In the high-octane circus of the Indian Premier League, few phenomena have exploded onto the scene quite like Vaibhav Suryavanshi. The Bihar prodigy, still a teenager at 15, burst into global consciousness in IPL 2025 as the youngest debutant and centurion in T20 history. His 101 off 38 balls against Gujarat Titans wasn’t just a knock; it was a declaration of intent from a player who treats boundaries as birthrights and bowlers as mere target practice. With a career strike rate hovering around 225 across 17 matches and a penchant for clearing ropes with frightening regularity—61 sixes already—Suryavanshi represented the ultimate nightmare for opposition captains. Yet, as IPL 2026 unfolds, a fascinating trend has emerged: teams appear to have devised blueprints to neutralize him before he enters that devastating “out of control” mode. This isn’t about diminishing his talent. Suryavanshi remains a generational prospect, capable of single-handedly tilting games. But cricket at the elite level is a game of adaptations, and the league’s collective brain trust has spent the off-season and early 2026 matches poring over footage, identifying triggers, and deploying targeted strategies. The result? More frequent low scores, golden ducks, and frustrated walks back to the pavilion, even as his overall numbers stay imposing. The primary weapon has been early aggression against his powerplay instincts. Suryavanshi is an opener who thrives on momentum, often launching into sixes from ball one. Captains have responded by setting aggressive fields and using pace variations immediately. Deepak Chahar’s masterclass in 2025, where he dismissed the youngster for a duck with a clever plan, highlighted the value of swing and seam movement early on. By denying width and tempting him with balls that move away or hold the line, bowlers force Suryavanshi to manufacture shots, disrupting his timing. In one notable 2026 outing against Lucknow Super Giants, he managed just 8 off 11, mistiming a length ball outside off after the top order collapsed. Mohsin Khan’s dismissal of him—inducing a toe-ender to cover—showcased how disciplined lines can exploit slight technical lapses when the youngster tries to force the pace. Spin has emerged as another potent tool. While Suryavanshi’s hand-eye coordination makes him dangerous against slower balls, teams are using mystery spinners and left-arm orthodox options to vary trajectories and exploit any impatience. His dot-ball percentage, though low, reveals moments where he hunts boundaries excessively. Bowlers who can land the ball in the “corridor of uncertainty” or use the carrom ball effectively have succeeded in building pressure, forcing errors. Praful Hinge’s golden duck dismissal in 2026 offered a “secret recipe” that others are emulating: tight channels combined with clever changes in pace. Data analytics and opposition scouting have played a silent but decisive role. Teams now track Suryavanshi’s triggers—his front-foot dominance against pace, preference for leg-side heaves when set, and occasional vulnerability to short balls if the seam position is right. By preparing specific match-ups (right-arm seamers angling across him, or spinners from over the wicket targeting leg stump), captains are minimizing the window for him to settle. This proactive approach contrasts with the reactive panic of 2025, when many teams simply fed him width and watched the ball sail into the stands. Critics might argue this “taming” reflects negatively on the bowler-friendly conditions or defensive captaincy. But that’s missing the point. IPL cricket evolves rapidly, and Suryavanshi’s emergence has accelerated that evolution. Young talents force the ecosystem to innovate. Remember how early Virat Kohli or AB de Villiers prompted fielding restrictions and bowling tweaks? Suryavanshi is in that league. His explosive starts demand perfection from the outset; one loose over, and the game can slip away. Teams that execute plans—short spells of high-intensity bowling, smart rotations, and mental warfare—have found success in curtailing him to 20-30 ball cameos rather than match-defining marathons. This cat-and-mouse dynamic benefits Indian cricket immensely. For Suryavanshi, these challenges are crucibles for growth. Already battle-hardened from U19 successes and Ranji exposure at an absurdly young age, he is learning to rotate strike, play percentage cricket when needed, and temper his aggression without losing intent. His emotional reactions to dismissals—tears on debut, visible frustration—reveal a fierce competitor who hates failure. That fire, channeled correctly, will make him unstoppable. Coaches like Rahul Dravid at Rajasthan Royals are undoubtedly working on mindset and technique to counter these plans. For franchises, the lesson is clear: superstar management requires homework. Blindly respecting reputations leads to carnage; targeted execution yields results. We’ve seen this with other phenoms—teams eventually found ways to quiet even the most destructive hitters through variations, intelligence, and execution. Suryavanshi’s case proves no one is immune, no matter how prodigious. Yet, one senses this is temporary. The teenager’s talent is raw and boundless. As he decodes these strategies, his game will expand—perhaps better leaving balls in the channel, improved footwork against spin, or devastating counters to short-pitched stuff. By IPL 2027 or beyond, he might laugh at these early “solutions.” In the end, the IPL’s beauty lies in this relentless arms race. Teams have indeed figured out ways to dismiss Vaibhav Suryavanshi before he runs amok—for now. It forces excellence from everyone: bowlers must be precise, captains astute, and the batter must evolve. Cricket wins. Fans win. And a 15-year-old superstar, tempered by these battles, will emerge even more formidable. The tornado hasn’t been stopped; it’s merely being studied so the next gust can be even more thrilling. (The writer is a senior journalist based in Mumbai. Views personal.)

AI for Emotional Support? Here’s Where It Helps—and Where It Fails

Instant emotional validation may feel comforting, but real healing often requires human insight and accountability.

As a counsellor and therapist, one pattern I have been noticing more frequently in recent times is this—many people are now turning to AI before they turn to a mental health professional.


They go to AI for emotional advice, relationship clarity, conflict support, and even help in understanding their feelings. And honestly, this is not surprising. AI is available instantly, responds immediately, and offers what often feels like comfort during moments of confusion and emotional distress. For someone feeling overwhelmed, emotionally charged, lonely, or simply unheard, that can genuinely feel like support.


And in some ways, it is.


AI can be helpful for quick emotional regulation tools. It can suggest breathing techniques, grounding exercises, and journaling prompts and even offer basic ways to calm the mind during distress. It can make emotional support feel more accessible and less intimidating, especially in moments when someone needs immediate direction, reassurance, or a sense of stability.


But emotional support and emotional healing are not the same thing.


What I often notice in clients who first turn to AI is that while they may feel temporarily validated, they do not always feel truly understood. And more importantly, they do not always gain deeper clarity or emotional insight.


This is because AI largely responds to what is presented to it. If someone approaches a situation from a place of hurt, emotional overwhelm, anger, or victimhood, AI often responds by validating that experience exactly as it is shared. While that may feel comforting and reassuring in the moment, it does not always help the person identify what they may be missing, where their blind spots are, or what deeper emotional patterns may be influencing the situation beneath the surface.


And that is where therapy differs in a very important way.


A counsellor does not only listen to what is being said. A counsellor also listens for what is not being said. They notice emotional patterns, defence mechanisms, contradictions, avoidance, emotional wounds, recurring behavioural responses, and the deeper context beneath the words. They do not simply agree or reassure. They help you reflect more honestly. They help you pause before reacting. They help you question your own narrative when needed and see the situation with greater awareness, emotional balance, and personal responsibility.


That kind of clarity cannot come from agreement alone.


Therapy also brings something AI cannot truly offer—human accountability. The therapeutic space is not just about being heard or emotionally comforted. It is about being guided, challenged, supported, and held accountable in a way that allows real emotional change and growth to happen over time.


And then there is the most important difference of all—human understanding.


Emotional experiences do not exist in isolation. They are shaped by family dynamics, attachment patterns, personal history, emotional conditioning, unresolved wounds, cultural influences, and lived experiences accumulated over the years. A trained therapist understands the emotional depth and complexity of these layers in a way AI simply cannot fully grasp.


AI can offer tools. It can offer language. It can even offer temporary comfort and reassurance.


But it cannot replace the depth of human insight, emotional nuance, and therapeutic connection that real healing often requires.


AI can assist the process. It cannot become the process.

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