Teenage batting sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi's rise has been swift, but tucked quietly behind it is an unlikely friendship. Ashiqur Rahman Majumder, a Bangladeshi coach who has remained a steady, reassuring presence along the way.
Ashiqur, a former first-class cricketer and now a development coach with the Bangladesh Cricket Board, first met Sooryavanshi in 2023 during a tri-series in Vijayawada, where Bangladesh's age-group side was touring India alongside England. India fielded two Under-19 teams, and Sooryavanshi, representing the 'B' side, first crossed paths with Ashiqur during adjacent training sessions.
"Our nets were alongside India Under-19. I was doing side-arm throws with a long run-up when Hrishikesh Kanitkar told me he had never seen anything like it," Ashiqur recalled. "Then Vaibhav came up and asked for a throw. I held back. I wasn't sure how his coach might take it."
The real connection, though, began later that evening, away from the nets when Ashiqur bumped into Sooryavanshi while on his way to have dinner.
"I had stepped out looking for a place to eat when he spotted me downstairs and called out. He was with another player, Aman. He said, "Sir, what are you looking for?". When I told him I was looking for a place to eat, he said, 'come with me'. The three of us went out together and we talked a lot that day."
It became a bit of a routine for the three. "One day I'd pay, the next day he would, then Aman. It became our little routine," he says.
The timing, Ashiqur remembers, often felt uncanny.
"One day, he scored 52 against England and treated me," he said. "After that, he insisted on paying every day. I said, "No, we are the 'Three Idiots'. He found that funny," he said and claimed that they had been in regular touch since then.
Their bond carried on beyond that tour, evolving into regular late-night conversations about batting and training.
"After he got into an IPL side, I called to ask about his preparation," Ashiqur said. "He told me they spend four hours just hitting sixes at the Centre of Excellence. He said it makes six-hitting feel natural in matches. We'd talk about these things often."
They reunited again during a tour in Qatar for the Rising Stars, where Ashiqur was with the Bangladesh setup.
"He met me in the lobby and hugged me. This time it was just the two of us, no Aman," he said. "We had dinner together that night. The next day, he went out and scored 200 against the UAE."
Even as Sooryavanshi's career has gathered pace, the conversations haven't stopped. On the eve of another milestone knock in the IPL, Ashiqur found himself on the other end of a familiar call.
When asked if he considered himself as a lucky charm for Sooryavanshi, he denied and added, "He's immensely talented. But maybe he feels a sense of comfort talking to me. He'll call at 1 AM or midnight, and I'll wake up to answer. The respect he shows, speaks a lot about his values. He's come so far, but he hasn't changed from that first meeting in Andhra Pradesh."
