The Shamshabad farmhouse had become a quiet anchor for the Deva family, but it was never meant to keep Siddanth away from cricket for long.
By the time the Indian summer began giving way to the monsoon, the international calendar had resumed.
The rebuilt Indian squads needed to come together, and the schedule left little room for rest.
The first assignment came at home.
South Africa arrived for a five-match T20I series in June.
India controlled the series, winning 3-1, with the fifth match in Bangalore abandoned because of rain.
But the most meaningful moment of Deva's mentorship came two weeks later.
It happened under the overcast skies of Malahide.
Ireland hosted India for a short two-match T20I series, serving as preparation for the much larger England tour.
The Malahide Cricket Club Ground was smaller and more intimate than the major stadiums India had recently played in, surrounded by green trees and damp air.
Thirty minutes before the first T20I, the Indian squad gathered on the outfield.
Siddanth Deva stood in the center of the group.
In his hands was a dark blue Indian T20 cap.
In front of him stood Arjun Tendulkar.
The twenty-two-year-old fast bowler looked very different.
The rawness was gone.
His body had become stronger, his movement more controlled, and his posture reflected the discipline he had developed through years of training.
Deva looked at him.
"Arjun," Deva said.
The group fell silent.
Arjun straightened.
"Yes, skip."
"There are millions of people back home who think they know who you are because of the name on your jersey," Deva said. "They think they understand your journey."
He paused.
"But they weren't in the nets at five in the morning. They didn't see the work. They didn't watch you build your bowling from the ground up."
Deva stepped forward and held out the cap.
"You didn't inherit this cap," he said. "You earned it."
Arjun's hands moved forward.
"You earned it with your own work, your own discipline, and your decision to keep going when things weren't working."
He placed the cap in Arjun's hands.
"Today, you don't carry somebody else's legacy. Today, you start your own."
Arjun looked down at the cap.
His fingers trembled slightly.
He looked at the BCCI crest before looking back at Deva.
"Thank you, Sid bhai," Arjun whispered. "For everything."
"Put it on," Deva said with a smile, placing a hand on his shoulder. "And go hit the top of off-stump."
The players applauded.
Rohit Sharma ruffled Arjun's hair while Hardik Pandya pulled him into a hug.
Arjun made his debut that night.
He bowled a disciplined spell and took two wickets, giving India the return Deva had expected from him.
India won the series 2-0.
The Irish trip had served its purpose.
The warm-up period was over.
The team now headed toward England.
SOUTHAMPTON, ENGLAND — JULY 2022
The Rose Bowl stood beneath the stadium lights as India prepared for the first T20I against England.
For Deva, the venue carried a different memory.
A year earlier, he had lifted the World Test Championship there after a six-day contest.
But the white Test clothing was long gone.
This was T20 cricket.
England were one of the strongest attacking teams in the format, with a batting order built around aggressive strokeplay from the opening over.
The crowd expected runs.
At the center of the pitch, Deva met Jos Buttler for the toss.
The referee flipped the coin.
"Heads," Buttler called.
The coin landed.
"It is heads," the referee confirmed.
"We're going to have a bat first. It looks like a great T20 wicket. Hard, flat, fast outfield. We want to put a big score up and put India under pressure."
The presenter turned toward Deva.
"Siddanth, losing the toss against this English batting lineup on a flat deck. Are you worried?"
"Not at all," Deva replied. "We prefer chasing in T20s. We know how aggressive they're going to be in the powerplay. That gives us opportunities if we execute our plans."
"And the playing eleven?"
"We're going with a balanced unit," Deva said. "Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav. I'll come in at five. Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik with the gloves, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Yuzvendra Chahal."
In the commentary box, Harsha Bhogle opened the broadcast.
"A superb evening here in Southampton. Jos Buttler has won the toss and elected to bat, and it's easy to understand why. Jason Roy, Buttler, Dawid Malan — they want to attack from the start. But India have looked disciplined under Siddanth Deva."
Nasser Hussain responded.
"It's a clash of approaches. England want to attack immediately, while Deva wants to control where they can score and build pressure. The first six overs could decide a lot."
The Indian team ran onto the field.
Jason Roy and Jos Buttler followed.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar took the new ball.
His first over was tight and produced some movement, though Roy found the boundary through the covers from the final delivery.
Six runs came from the over.
England were underway.
As the field changed for the second over, Deva removed his cap and handed it to the umpire.
He was taking the ball himself.
"That's an interesting move," Ian Smith said. "Siddanth Deva comes on in the second over. He usually prefers the middle overs or the death. He wants to attack this English lineup early."
Deva walked back to his mark.
Jason Roy waited at the striker's end.
Deva began his run-up.
The stadium noise seemed distant.
He hit the crease and released.
Ball 1
149 kmph.
A full delivery aimed at middle stump.
Roy stepped forward to drive.
At the last moment, the ball moved away.
It passed the outside edge and went through to Dinesh Karthik.
Dot ball.
Ball 2
Deva changed the angle slightly.
151 kmph.
The same length.
Roy expected another delivery moving away.
Instead, the ball came back off the seam.
It beat the inside edge and passed close to the stumps.
Dot ball.
Ball 3
A 148 kmph bouncer directed at Roy's helmet.
Roy moved away from it quickly.
Dot ball.
"This is outstanding from the Indian captain!" Nasser said. "Jason Roy doesn't know what the ball is doing."
Ball 4
Roy stepped out of his crease.
Deva's Crab's Eye passive skill detected the movement.
He responded with a 145 kmph yorker at the base of off-stump.
Roy jammed his bat down.
No run.
Ball 5
Hard length outside off.
Roy swung across the line.
Nothing but air.
Karthik collected.
Five balls.
Five dots.
Ball 6
Deva changed the plan.
Instead of a yorker or bouncer, he bowled a classic fourth-stump delivery at 147 kmph.
Roy pushed at it.
The outside edge carried low toward slip.
Suryakumar Yadav moved quickly and held the catch just above the grass.
"Howzat!" Deva shouted.
The umpire raised his finger.
"GONE! Roy has nicked it! Suryakumar takes the catch!" Harsha shouted. "A maiden, and the wicket of Jason Roy!"
Deva high-fived SKY.
His figures:
Deva: 1 over, 1 maiden, 0 runs, 1 wicket.
Dawid Malan walked in.
Bhuvneshwar bowled another controlled over, conceding only three.
England were 9 for 1 after three.
Deva took the ball again.
Jos Buttler was on strike.
Ball 1
A 150 kmph inswinger.
Buttler moved across to flick.
The pace beat him.
The ball struck his pad.
India appealed.
The umpire said no, judging it to be sliding down leg.
Dot ball.
Ball 2
149 kmph outside off.
Buttler tried to defend.
The ball moved away and beat the edge.
Dot ball.
Ball 3
Buttler came down the track.
Deva slowed the delivery and rolled his fingers across the seam.
128 kmph.
The off-cutter dipped beneath the bat.
Karthik collected.
Dot ball.
"He is setting Buttler up perfectly," Ian Smith said. "The English captain can't find a way into the over."
Ball 4
Deva returned to pace.
152 kmph yorker.
Buttler got his bat down and dug it out toward point.
Dot.
Ball 5
Hard length on middle.
Buttler defended it back toward the bowler.
Deva fielded.
Dot.
The English dressing room watched in silence.
Ball 6
Deva shaped the ball for outswing before changing his wrist position.
148 kmph inswinger.
Buttler expected movement away.
A gap opened between bat and pad.
The ball entered and hit middle and leg.
The stumps went back.
"BOWLED HIM! Jos Buttler is gone!" Nasser shouted. "Another maiden for Deva!"
Deva pumped his fist once.
India gathered around him.
Deva: 2 overs, 2 maidens, 0 runs, 2 wickets.
England were under immediate pressure.
Liam Livingstone came out alongside Malan.
The powerplay ended with England at 17 for 2.
In the seventh over, Deva took the ball again.
"He is keeping himself in the attack," Harsha observed. "Two overs, zero runs. Now Dawid Malan faces him."
Ball 1
145 kmph across the left-hander.
Malan left it.
Dot.
Ball 2
147 kmph closer to the stumps.
Malan attempted a cover drive.
The ball moved late and found the inside half of the bat.
It rolled to mid-on.
Dot.
Ball 3
Malan stepped outside leg stump.
Deva followed him with a 149 kmph ball aimed into the body.
Malan fended it down.
Dot.
Ball 4
Deva pitched it up.
A full outswinger.
Malan went after it.
The outside edge carried to Karthik.
Straight into the gloves.
"Howzat!"
The umpire raised his finger.
Malan walked back for 8 from 15 balls.
"Three wickets and still no runs!" Ian Smith shouted. "Malan has found no answer to Deva."
Moeen Ali walked out.
Ball 5
Deva bounced him at 150 kmph.
Moeen ducked.
Dot.
Ball 6
148 kmph yorker.
Moeen dug it out toward backward point.
The fielders closed in.
No run.
Deva: 3 overs, 3 maidens, 0 runs, 3 wickets.
Eighteen deliveries.
Eighteen dots.
England were 18 for 3.
Deva wanted another over.
He didn't wait for the later stages.
The ninth over was his fourth.
Liam Livingstone stood at the striker's end.
He tightened his grip on the bat.
Ball 1
142 kmph cutter.
Livingstone swung toward mid-wicket.
The ball held its line and passed the bat.
Dot.
Ball 2
152 kmph yorker at the toes.
Livingstone jammed his bat down.
Dot.
Ball 3
145 kmph delivery.
Livingstone tried to sweep.
He missed.
The ball struck his pad.
India appealed.
The umpire ruled not out.
Dot.
"Livingstone wants to attack, but he can't get Deva away," Nasser said.
Ball 4
Livingstone moved toward leg stump, exposing the stumps.
Deva followed the opening.
153 kmph.
Middle stump was broken.
"BOWLED! Livingstone is gone!" Harsha shouted. "Four wickets and still no runs!"
Livingstone looked back at the stumps before leaving.
Sam Curran came out.
Ball 5
Curran blocked a 145 kmph length delivery toward the off side.
Dot.
Twenty-three consecutive dot balls.
Deva returned to his mark.
The Indian players moved in around him.
The crowd had grown quiet.
He ran in.
Ball 6
148 kmph outswinger, fourth-stump line.
Curran pushed at it.
The outside edge carried toward first slip.
Rohit Sharma moved across and held the catch one-handed.
"YES!" Rohit shouted, throwing the ball into the air.
Deva stood in his follow-through as his teammates ran toward him.
England's batting order had collapsed.
In the commentary box, Ian Smith abandoned any attempt at understatement.
"Five wickets! Five wickets for Siddanth Deva! Four maiden overs in a T20 international!"
The scoreboard displayed:
SIDDANTH DEVA
Overs: 4.0 | Maidens: 4 | Runs: 0 | Wickets: 5 | Economy: 0.00
He had bowled twenty-four consecutive dot balls.
England had no answer.
The rest of the innings became a matter of finishing the job.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Hardik Pandya maintained the pressure.
Chahal picked up three wickets.
Harshal's slower balls dealt with the lower order.
England were bowled out for 117 in 16.4 overs.
The home crowd had become quiet.
India needed only 118.
The chase was straightforward.
Rohit Sharma and Ishan Kishan opened with freedom.
Rohit pulled Reece Topley into the stands and drove David Willey down the ground.
Ishan matched him, finding boundaries whenever England missed their lengths.
They added 85 before Kishan was caught in the deep.
Suryakumar Yadav walked out at number three.
He immediately began using the full range of his shots, working the fast bowlers behind square and taking the spinners over cover.
In the Indian dugout, Deva sat comfortably.
\He held a bottle of blue sports drink while speaking with Hardik Pandya and Dinesh Karthik.
He had already done his part.
There was no reason to intervene.
In the fourteenth over, Suryakumar stepped across and scooped Chris Jordan over fine leg for six.
The match was finished.
India reached 118 with six overs remaining, winning by nine wickets.
The post-match presentation began near the boundary.
The presenter looked down at the scorecard.
"Siddanth, Player of the Match doesn't quite describe this. Four overs, four maidens, zero runs, five wickets. How do you explain figures like that against England?"
Deva took the microphone.
"You can't plan for figures like that," he said. "The conditions helped. The ball swung late, and there was some variable bounce. But the pressure came from the whole unit."
He continued.
"Bhuvi bowled a very good first over. The fielding was excellent. Rohit's catch at slip finished the spell. When the team gives you that support, you can attack."
"You made one of the world's strongest T20 batting lineups look ordinary. Is that the best you've bowled?"
"It was a good spell," Deva replied. "But T20 cricket changes quickly. England are a world-class team. They'll come back strongly in the next game. We need to stay disciplined."
He accepted the trophy and thanked the Indian supporters.
Fifteen minutes later, the dressing room was a different world.
Pizza boxes covered the tables.
Punjabi music played from a Bluetooth speaker.
Players were laughing and talking over one another.
Deva entered carrying his Player of the Match trophy.
The music stopped.
Rohit Sharma stood up with a slice of pizza in one hand.
"You ruined the game, Sid."
Deva raised an eyebrow.
"I ruined the game?"
"Yes!"
Hardik pointed toward him.
"I spent two hours warming up. I stretched. I taped my wrists. And then I didn't bat or bowl. I just stood at mid-off watching you play single-player mode."
Dinesh Karthik held up his gloves.
"My gloves are clean. I caught two edges. The rest of the time, I watched the stumps."
Yuzvendra Chahal joined in.
"It's selfish, skip. Think about the broadcasters. You finished the innings too quickly."
Deva laughed.
"I apologize for the inconvenience."
He picked up a bottle of water.
"I'll try a few full tosses next match so Hardik can feel involved."
"Thank you! That's all I ask!" Hardik shouted.
The room erupted again.
Deva sat beside his locker and took a drink.
The English summer had begun.
And Deva was only getting started.