Curious case of U-19s
Ricky was adjudged best batsman of the 2000 World Cup campaign a tournament that gave India Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif.
New Delhi: Ravneet Singh Ricky runs a cricket academy and works for Air India.
Shalabh Srivastava has gone into oblivion after BCCI suspended him for five years following a sting operation on match fixing.
Ajitesh Argal has played the last of his 10 first-class matches in 2015. Smit Patel is trying to keep his first-class career afloat by playing for India’s worst performing domestic side Tripura.
Wondering how the four are joined by common thread. They were all star performers in India U-19 team’s victorious World Cup campaigns in 2000, 2008 and 2012.
Ricky was adjudged best batsman of the 2000 World Cup campaign — a tournament that gave India Yuvraj Singh and Mohammed Kaif.
Srivastava, a left arm seamer, was the third highest wicket-taker in 2000 while Argal was the man of the final during Virat Kohli led side’s triumph in 2008. Smit scored a half-century in the 2012 final.
But leave alone playing for India, Ricky, Smit, Shalabh and Ajitesh could not even remotely replicate their performance at the first-class level. As the whole country is euphoric about U-19 World Cup success, an Unmukt Chand comment forces one to sit back and think.
“For every Virat Kohli story, there is a story of Unmukt Chand or Shikhar Dhawan also.”
Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Manjot Kalra, Shivam Mavi or Kamlesh Nagarkoti are no doubt talented but it is too early to say how many will make it big in international cricket.
That class of 2000 that had Ricky also had Yuvraj Singh — possibly one of India’s finest limited overs cricketer and Mohammed Kaif who played 120 odd ODIs including 2003 World Cup final for India.
“A few will make it but let’s accept the fact that a lot of them will fall by the wayside. That’s the reality but now important thing is to go back and play. It will be great if two or three from this batch make it,” says former India opener Aakash Chopra.
However, experts feel that with more India A tours now and Rahul Dravid in charge of their transition, some of the boys will be ready in near future.