top of page

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.)

Challenges in rhino conservation – climate change, poaching, site diversity

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

rhino conservation

As the world marked World Rhino Day on Sunday, the 2024 State of the Rhino Report offers a sobering assessment of the conservation efforts and challenges facing these species. Currently, less than 28,000 rhinos remained worldwide across all five species. According to the 2024 State of the Rhino report by the International Rhino Foundation, every rhino species faces distinct conservation challenges due to environmental, socioeconomic, and political factors in their respective regions from Africa to Asia.

Greater One-Horned Rhino, India

The report sheds light on the Greater One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), which primarily inhabits India and Nepal, with occasional sightings in Bhutan. The species’ population stood at 3,262 at the end of 2021 and is still classified as vulnerable due to reasons like poaching, prevalence of invasive species, climate change, limited space and resources.

India along with Nepal and Bhutan work together to implement a transboundary management strategy for this species. "Thanks to this collaboration and strict government protection, the Greater One-Horned Rhino population has steadily grown from fewer than 100 animals a century ago to around 4,014 today, increasing by 20 per cent over the last decade," the report says.

Impact of Climate Change

Furthermore, the report highlights concerns that Greater One-Horned Rhinos could be among the hardest hit by climate change. "Stronger monsoon seasons, combined with limited space and resources, disrupt habitats and increase the risk of human-wildlife conflict.”

The increase in temperature, too much or too little rainfall, are the factors related to climate change that have to be monitored for a longer duration to ascertain the impact on the greater one-horned rhino population and habitats. “Alien invasive plant species have already acted as a threat to grassland habitat of rhinos. As such long-term monitoring of rhino’s health and habitats that provide nutritious food is very crucial to ascertain the impact of climate change on the species and habitat,” says Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, CEO of Aaranyak and Chair of IUCN/SSC. The research team at Aaranyak has already started monitoring rhinos to assist management in the coming future with possible interventions to be needed.

Persisting Threats

Although Africa’s total rhino count has continued to increase despite poaching, certain species in Asia face an existential threat. The population of greater one-horned rhinos is growing however, poaching remains a significant threat. “The species has been driven from many areas where it once thrived, and full recovery depends on not just protecting the rhinos but reintroducing them to regions where they have disappeared," the report adds.

Compared to 41 rhinos killed in 2013, the hunting has been remarkably controlled in India to about two or three in the past few years. In Assam, the frontline staff strengths in rhino bearing areas have been further enhanced. Vigil, in and around rhino bearing areas, has been further intensified by law enforcement agencies leading to prevention of rhino hunting cases. “However, law enforcement agencies, especially the forest department, need to give extra efforts to increase the rate of conviction of arrested suspects involved in rhino hunting cases,” says Talukdar who is also a Senior Advisor of International Rhino Foundation (for Asian rhinos).

“As per Wildlife Protection Act, punishment for poaching of rhinos can lead to jail term of seven years or more and fine of Rs 50,000. However, in Assam, punishment for poaching is stricter i.e jail term of ten years and fine upto Rs 100,000,” says Dr Bhaskar Choudhary, Head veterinarian at Wildlife Trust of India.

Site Diversity

Rhino range expansion programme is extremely crucial to ensure gene flow and also to give more space to growing numbers of rhinos. This is what Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (in 2005) aims at. India currently has a network of 998 Protected Areas covering about 5.28 per cent of its total geographic area. “The current challenge that persists is the shortage of land. We need connectivity within protected areas for not just rhinos but other species of wild animals to conduct their natural act of dispersion,” says Dr. Choudhary.

The protected areas for wild animals are relatively small and as the population increases, there will be a requirement for more space for diversity of resources and dispersion. “Conservation success always leads to more possibilities of conflicts as dispersal for wild animals is a natural phenomenon. As we are trying to achieve 30 per cent of the land inside forest cover, the forest cover also includes man-made forest, plantation etc. The wild animals except a few don’t lead to these man-made forests simply due to lack of diversity in food and resources. How much land can we spare for wildlife and is 30% of the land feasible?” questions Dr. Choudhary.

Earlier most rhino populations in Assam were connected through natural corridors. In recent years, the Assam Government has taken important steps to expand the area of Kaziranga NP, Burhachapori WLS and Orang National Park. With added areas, at least three rhinos from Orange NP in Assam have naturally moved to Laokhowa and Burhachapori WLS through riverine connectivity in December 2023. It can be anticipated that more rhinos shall naturally disperse among these rhino bearing protected areas which shall further enhance gene flow to build stronger progeny of rhinos.

“Despite annual floods often being portrayed as very detrimental for Kaziranga or other rhino bearing areas in Assam, in reality, annual floods are very much essential for floodplain ecosystems like Kaziranga NP. Few wild animals die during the annual flood, which looks bad, but this is the natural selection process of survival of the fittest,” says Talukdar. He adds that without annual flood, these floodplain ecosystems won’t be able to sustain wild animals, including rhinos in Assam as it energizes the ecosystems in Kaziranga NP or other rhino areas along river Brahmaputra. “Floods in terms of wildlife in the floodplain ecosystem should be seen as ecological services essential to maintain conditions suitable for wild animals. What is needed is to ensure the natural ecological process operates without much human hindrance to allow natural movement of wild animals based on their natural instinct,” adds Talukdar.

Comments

bottom of page