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“Prithvi is our dream,” says Kadam, sitting on a verandah of the modest changing room of the Virar Nagar Parishad Cricket Ground, where Prithvi first faced a cricket ball at the age of two, 70 km from Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium that is home to some of the greatest names in international cricket. As the kid changes into his gear—his MIG gloves, the Morrant pads gifted to him by an English coach (who wants to take him to England to play county cricket), and his favourite SG bat with Tendulkar’s autograph on it—a metamorphoses unfolds. The callow child is gone and a mature player emerges. His shots are hard, fast and always along the ground.

“Prithvi’s talent is totally natural and he does not need to be taught,” says Phatak. “There is a certain maturity in him when it comes to cricket, unlike other kids of his age or even those older than him. He really puts in a lot of effort and doesn’t miss even a single match.” That perhaps is the true mark of a rising cricketer.

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