The Making of a Champion: Vivaan Nitin Sanap and the Coach Behind the Numbers

In Mumbai’s fiercely competitive cricketing ecosystem the same city that forged Sachin Tendulkar, Rohit Sharma, and a thousand untold dreams  a 13-year-old batsman is quietly writing a story worth telling. His name is Vivaan Nitin Sanap, and in just three years of structured cricket, he has produced numbers that make experienced coaches do a double take.

Behind those numbers stands a man who spotted the spark early: ISA Noor Bawa, a Mumbai-based personal cricket coach with deep roots in the city’s grassroots circuit. Together, they are building something that the cricketing corridors of Mumbai are beginning to take notice of.

Where It All Began

It was May 2023 when a 10-year-old Vivaan first walked into ISA Bawa’s coaching setup. He was young, eager, and raw but Bawa, who had played A and B Division cricket in the storied Kanga League, one of Mumbai’s most competitive and prestigious domestic competitions, knew immediately that this boy had something different.

The Kanga League played through the gruelling Mumbai monsoon season since 1948 is no ordinary competition. It has produced Test cricketers and shaped the toughest techniques in Indian cricket. A coach forged in those conditions carries with him an understanding of the game that no textbook can replicate. That understanding is exactly what ISA Bawa has poured into Vivaan.

The Coach: ISA Noor Bawa

ISA Noor Bawa brings five years of personal coaching experience to his craft, working exclusively with a tight-knit group of five students currently active across the Mumbai Cricket Association’s U14, U16, and U19 age-group structures. His philosophy is rooted in intensity, personal attention, and playing the game the Mumbai way hard, disciplined, and technically sound.

With his background in competitive Kanga League cricket at its highest club divisions, Bawa does not believe in shortcuts. Each student under him trains not just to score runs, but to build a cricketing brain. Vivaan Sanap is perhaps his most visible product to date and the results speak for themselves.

The Numbers That Demand Attention

Cricket is ultimately a game of numbers, and Vivaan Sanap’s numbers at the U14 level are striking.

December 2025: A Month That Defined a Season

In a single calendar month, Vivaan scored 628 runs across 11 matches  a haul that would make any age-group selector sit up straight. Within that run of form, he struck one century and five consecutive fifties, a sequence of consistency that is exceptional even by senior standards.

Five consecutive fifty-plus scores. In U14 cricket. In December alone.

Mira Bhayander Talent Hunt Tournament 2025: Player of the Series

Vivaan was named Player of the Series in the Mira Bhayander Talent Hunt Tournament 2025 after amassing 340 runs in 6 innings at a strike rate of 125 and an average of 68. These are numbers that blend classical technique reflected in the high average  with the modern game’s attacking instincts, as shown by the strike rate.

Giles Shield 2025 — Representing AL Barkat School

Representing AL Barkat School in the prestigious Giles Shield, one of Mumbai’s oldest and most respected inter-school cricket tournaments, Vivaan delivered two innings of note: an 84 not out and 42. The unbeaten 84 demonstrated not just strokeplay, but the temperament to carry an innings a quality that separates the gifted from the great.

MCA Summer Camp U14 Final 2026: Second Highest Scorer

In what may be his most high-profile innings to date, Vivaan scored 92 runs off 224 balls in the Mumbai Cricket Association Summer Camp U14 Final 2026, making him the second-highest scorer in the final against the MCA Talent Hunt U14 team. Playing a patient, match-shaping innings in a final against MCA’s own talent hunt side is the kind of performance that gets noticed by the right people