The next morning, the Sunrisers Hyderabad training camp officially began. The team bus arrived at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Uppal. The sun was already hot, baking the practice pitches.
The players dropped their kit bags in the dressing room and walked out to the field. They did a quick warm-up session, jogging laps around the boundary rope and stretching.
Tom Moody and VVS Laxman divided the players into different nets.
Siddanth took a practice ball from the bucket. He walked over to the main batting net. Kane Williamson was already inside, strapping on his batting gloves and taking his guard.
"Ready, Kane?" Siddanth asked, standing at the top of his run-up.
"Ready," Williamson nodded, tapping his bat on the pitch.
Siddanth ran in. He did not bowl at full speed. He was practicing his swing bowling. He released the ball. It pitched on a good length outside the off-stump and swung away late. Williamson watched it closely and let it go past his bat into the keeper's gloves.
Siddanth bowled the next ball. He changed his grip slightly. The ball swung back in toward the stumps. Williamson stepped forward and pushed it gently to the leg side with a straight bat.
They practiced like this for twenty minutes. Siddanth tested different lines and lengths. Williamson played with patience. It was a quiet, focused battle between two experienced international players.
"The swing is looking good, Sid," Williamson said, stepping out of the net to take a drink of water. "The ball is moving late."
"The seam feels right," Siddanth agreed, looking at his fingers.
Siddanth left the main net and walked over to the side practice pitches. Three young fast bowlers were bowling to local net batsmen. Mohammed Siraj, Arjun Tendulkar, and Siddarth Kaul were taking turns running in.
Siddanth stood behind the stumps and watched them.
Siraj ran in and bowled. He bowled very fast, but the ball went down the leg side for a wide. Siraj looked frustrated and walked back to his mark.
Siddanth called him over.
"Siraj, come here," Siddanth said.
Siraj jogged over, wiping sweat from his face. "Ha, Bhai."
"You are trying to bowl too fast," Siddanth told him. "When you push for extra pace, your head falls away to the left during your delivery stride. That changes your release point, and the ball goes down the leg side. Keep your head straight. Look exactly where you want the ball to land."
Siraj nodded, taking the advice. "Keep the head straight. Understood, bhai."
Siddanth turned his attention to Arjun. Arjun bowled a delivery that pitched short. The batsman easily pulled it away.
"Arjun," Siddanth said, stepping into the net area. "Show me your grip."
Arjun held out the ball. Siddanth looked at his fingers.
"Your fingers are too close together on the seam," Siddanth pointed out. "Spread them apart slightly. It gives you better control over the wrist. And follow through completely. You are stopping your run-up as soon as you release the ball. Run all the way through the crease. It gives you extra bounce."
Arjun adjusted his fingers on the ball. He ran in again, following the instructions. The ball pitched on a good length and carried well to the keeper.
"Much better," Siddanth encouraged him.
Siddanth then watched Kaul. Kaul was trying to bowl his knuckleball, a slower delivery he used in T20 matches.
"You are showing the batsman your grip, Siddarth," Siddanth observed. "You are changing your fingers while you are running in. A good batsman will see that and wait for the slower ball. Hide the ball behind your hip while you run. Change the grip at the very last second before your arm comes over."
Kaul tried it. He hid the ball, ran in, and bowled. The batsman swung early and missed the ball completely.
"That is it," Siddanth said. "Keep practicing that."
Siddanth spent the next hour just watching them bowl, giving them small corrections. He did not yell. He just talked to them normally. The young bowlers listened to every word.
After they finished their bowling spells, Siddanth walked back to the dressing room. He took off his bowling spikes. He put on his batting pads, strapped his thigh guard, and grabbed his helmet and bat.
He walked back out to the field. He went straight to the net where Siraj, Arjun, and Kaul were resting.
"Get up," Siddanth told them, tapping his bat on his pad. "Bowl to me."
The three young bowlers looked at each other. They picked up the practice balls. Bowling to the Devil of Cricket in the nets was a big test.
Siddanth took his guard.
Kaul bowled first. He bowled a good length delivery on the off-stump. Siddanth stepped forward and drove the ball firmly through the covers.
Siraj came next. He ran in hard and bowled a fast, short ball aimed at Siddanth's chest. Siddanth swayed out of the way effortlessly and let the ball pass.
Siddanth stepped out of his crease. "Siraj, stop."
Siraj stopped walking back.
"You telegraphed that bouncer," Siddanth explained, standing in the middle of the pitch. "You gripped the ball tighter and dug your heels in harder during your run-up. I knew it was a short ball before it even left your hand. You have to make your run-up look exactly the same for a bouncer as you do for a yorker. Hide your intentions."
Siraj listened carefully. He went back to his mark and tried again.
Arjun bowled a full delivery on the pads. Siddanth flicked it away easily.
"Too full, Arjun," Siddanth corrected him immediately. "If you bowl there in a match, I will hit you for a boundary every single time. Pull your length back. Make me work for the run."
They bowled to him for twenty minutes. Siddanth played defensive shots, left the wide balls, and occasionally hit a drive. After every few balls, he stopped them and told them what they did wrong. He told them what a batsman thinks when he sees a specific field or a specific run-up.
While they were practicing, Dale Steyn and Trent Boult walked over to the net.
"Taking it easy on the kids, Sid?" Steyn asked, spinning a ball in his hand.
"They are doing well," Siddanth smiled through his helmet grille. "You want a turn?"
"I thought you would never ask," Boult grinned.
The two international fast bowlers stepped into the net. The young bowlers moved aside to watch.
Boult bowled first. The left-arm pacer ran in and bowled a fast, in-swinging yorker. Siddanth brought his bat down quickly and dug the ball out just before it hit the stumps.
Steyn came next. He ran in with his smooth, aggressive action. He bowled a fast, rising delivery outside the off-stump. Siddanth left it alone, watching it carry to the keeper.
The practice session turned into a real contest. Steyn and Boult did not hold back. They bowled fast. They bowled short. They tried to find the edge of Siddanth's bat.
Siddanth batted with total focus. He drove Boult down the ground. He cut Steyn past point. He defended the good balls.
"You are not giving us an inch, mate," Steyn laughed, wiping sweat from his face after a long over.
"I am just trying to survive," Siddanth joked back, taking off his helmet.
The training session ended in the afternoon. The players were tired. They packed their bags and took the team bus back to the ITC Kakatiya hotel.
In the evening, the team gathered in the recreation room on the second floor.
The atmosphere was very relaxed. The hard work of the day was done. David Warner and Ben Cutting were playing pool. Shikhar Dhawan was sitting on the sofa, talking loudly with Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Siddanth sat in an armchair, watching a game of table tennis between Kane Williamson and Moises Henriques.
Siraj and Kaul were sitting near the back, ordering food from the room service menu.
---
The days passed like this. Morning training, net sessions, mentoring the young players, and evening recreation. The camp was preparing them well for the upcoming IPL season.
Then came the morning of April 5.
It was Sri Rama Navami, a major Hindu festival celebrating the birth of Lord Rama.
Siddanth was sitting in his hotel room. He had just finished his breakfast. He checked the clock on the wall. It was 9:55 AM.
He picked up his phone. He opened his messaging app and sent a quick text to Feroz and Arjun.
Sid: Ten o'clock. Upload it.
He waited.
At 10:00 AM, the official NEXUS account posted a picture on Twitter and Vibe.
Five seconds later, Prabhas uploaded the exact same picture on his Vibe account.
Gopichand uploaded it on his accounts.
A moment later, Sushant Singh Rajput also shared the poster on his Twitter and Vibe timelines.
Finally, Siddanth posted the picture on his own massive social media channels.
The picture was a movie poster.
It was a cinematic, wide-angle poster. In the center of the image stood the silhouetted figure of a man. He wore an ornate, traditional crown. He was standing on a high cliff. He had a massive bow fully drawn, an arrow aimed directly toward the horizon.
Behind the silhouetted figure was a colossal, glowing golden sun. The background showed a breathtaking, highly detailed landscape. There were majestic, towering mountains, deep green forests, winding rivers, and steep waterfalls. In the far distance, barely visible through the mist, stood the ancient, grand city of Ayodhya.
At the bottom of the poster, written in bold, elegant gold lettering, was the title:
RAMAYANA
Directly beneath the title was the tagline:
Ayodhya Khanda
And right below the tagline, in clear, simple text:
Prabhas as Lord Ram.
The moment the posters hit the internet, the digital world stopped.
There was no prior announcement. There was no press release. It was a complete surprise drop on a major festival day.
Within ten minutes, the internet broke. The hashtags started trending immediately. People were tagging each other, sharing the image, and commenting in thousands. The combination of Siddanth Deva's company and Prabhas playing Lord Ram was too big for the fans to handle.
---
@TollywoodUpdates:
PRABHAS AS LORD RAM! The Devil of Cricket just dropped the biggest movie announcement of the decade! The poster looks like a Hollywood epic! #Ramayana #Prabhas
@DarlingFansHq:
WE ARE SCREAMING! Prabhas looking at Ayodhya with a drawn bow! This is the perfect role for him! Thank you Siddanth Deva! 🙏👑 #AyodhyaKhanda
@CinemaTracker:
Wait, is this live-action or animation? The poster looks like a high-end digital painting. If NEXUS is making an animated Ramayana with Prabhas's face and voice... box office records will shatter.
@CricketMemeLord:
Siddanth Deva really said "I'll win the World Cup and then I'll just casually produce the biggest movie in India." The man does not rest. 🏏🎬
@AnimeIndiaHub:
Look at the art style on that poster! The lighting, the landscape, the silhouette! If this is the animation quality of the movie, the Indian anime community finally won! 🔥
@SSR_Warriors:
Wait, Sushant Singh Rajput just posted the Ramayana poster too! Is he playing Lakshmana?! Sushant and Prabhas on screen together is going to be legendary! 🤯🔥
@Gopichand_FC:
Gopichand tweeted the poster too! Is he in the movie?! PLEASE tell me he is playing Ravana! Prabhas vs Gopichand in an epic movie is my dream! ⚔️
@Deva_Supremacy:
He teased this movie during the college fest! He told us to wait for April 5th! He actually kept his promise! Siddanth Deva always delivers! 🐐
@SushantFanClub:
Seeing Sushant's tweet just made my day! He always brings so much depth to his roles. A mythological epic is the perfect stage for his talent! ❤️✨
@VedicAesthetics:
Releasing the poster on Sri Rama Navami. The timing is perfect. The title font and the golden sun look so divine. Jai Shri Ram! 🚩🙏
@MovieReviewer_Rao:
No PR buildup, no teaser trailer, just a single poster that broke the entire internet. This is how you market a movie.
@TechBro_Hyd:
The render quality on the waterfalls in the background of that poster is insane. Did NEXUS build a new graphics engine just for this movie? 💻
@SSR_Forever_Fan:
I am betting everything that Sushant is Lakshmana. He has that intensity and loyalty in his acting that fits the character perfectly! Can't wait! 🏹
@Prabhas_Trends:
Baahubali to Lord Ram. Prabhas is really dominating the historical and mythological genre. He has the perfect height and build for it. 👑🏹
@SRH_OrangeArmy:
Our Captain is making movies in the morning and hitting sixes in the evening! Let's go Orange Army! 🦅🧡
@BollywoodGossip:
The entire Bollywood industry is quiet today. An Indian cricketer just announced a pan-India movie with the biggest Super star. The power shift is real.
@GamerGod_99:
The poster looks like the cover art for a Triple-A RPG game. I would play the hell out of a Ramayana game with these graphics. 🎮🔥
@MythologyNerd:
"Ayodhya Khanda". This means it is a trilogy or a multi-part series! They are starting from the beginning. They are actually going to tell the full story! 📖
@Ananya_P:
I cannot stop looking at the poster. The silhouette is so powerful. This is going to be the most beautiful movie ever made. 🥺❤️
@CricketFanatic_MUM:
I only follow Siddanth Deva for cricket updates, but now I guess I am a movie fan too. The crossover we didn't know we needed.
@Local_Chai_Wala:
My tea stall is full of boys just staring at their phones and talking about the Ramayana poster. Nobody is drinking their tea! ☕📱
@Animation_Daily:
If this is 3D animation, the textures on the mountains and the lighting on the sun are incredibly well done. NEXUS is not playing around.
@Darling_Prabhas_OFC:
The King is back! Prabhas as Lord Ram will be remembered for generations! Thank you Siddanth sir for making this happen! 🙏
@TeluguMemes:
Directors: We need months of promotion.
Siddanth Deva: Uploads one picture at 10 AM. Breaks Twitter. 🗿
@NEXUS_Employee:
Working at NEXUS today is crazy. The servers are getting hit with so much traffic just from people sharing the poster. 📈
@DesiMomDaily:
My mother saw the poster on my phone. She immediately folded her hands and prayed to the screen. The movie is already a hit with the parents! 😂
@Gopichand_Trends:
We need confirmation on Gopichand's role! If he is Ravana, the dialogue delivery between him and Prabhas will be legendary! Getting Varsham vibes.🗣️🔥
@SiddanthDevaFC:
Everything this man touches turns to gold. Cricket, business, and now cinema. The ultimate all-rounder. 👑
@Art_of_Cinema:
The composition of this poster is textbook perfect. The leading lines of the river pointing towards Ayodhya, the silhouette creating mystery. A beautiful piece of art. 🎨
@Cricket_Shitpost:
Siddanth Deva probably funded this entire movie just because he wanted something good to watch on a Sunday morning. Billionaire behavior. 💸
@VibeOfficial:
The hashtag #Ramayana is currently trending at Number 1 globally. Our platform is handling the traffic, but please stop breaking the internet, Boss! 😉⚡
Siddanth locked his phone. He sat in his hotel room and smiled. The reaction was exactly what he expected. The hype was built. Now, he just had to focus on the IPL season starting in a few days. The Orange Army was ready to defend their title.
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A/N: Check put my new fanfic Multiverse: Essence of Gacha