The excitement was showing on Ishan Kishan’s face as he walked towards the dressing room. The India U-19 captain still couldn’t believe that his team had actually made it to the final of the World Cup, that too by beating Sri Lanka. While his teammates were busy celebrating their success, the 17-year-old slowly went up to their coach Rahul Dravid to find out whether they could tick on all the right boxes.
An ever-calm Dravid gave a pat on Ishan’s back, lauded him for the victory, but also warned him about Sunday’s final. So, hours after creating history in Dhaka, India’s young guns were back to the drawing board, discussing their strategy for the U-19 World Cup final. And it is this dedication, hard work and willingness to learn that has worked wonders for these 15 players. It may be a bit too early to call them the next big things of Indian cricket, but if half of them can keep the momentum going, then the country’s cricketing future is bright indeed.
In a game of glorious uncertainties, the final may not go their way, but going beyond the binarity of a win or loss, Ishan and company have certainly proved a point—when there’s a will, there’s a way.
For most of the players, it has not been a smooth ride. With many coming from lower-middle class families, cricket didn’t come to them naturally. While some of these boys were introduced to cricket early in life, the ones like Zeeshan Ansari had mountains to climb before taking up the sport. Hailing from a lower middle-class family, Zeeshan’s father runs a tailoring shop in Lucknow. When the young boy wanted to play cricket, the family opposed the move.
“He came to me at an early age. Coming from such a background, it’s not easy to play cricket. But the boy was a real talent,” his coach Gopal Singh says. There were times when Zeeshan would play cricket without letting anyone know. “That’s how it was. But even now, he doesn’t like to talk much about the family,” the coach says, adding that he would show Zeeshan clippings of Australian spin legend Shane Warne. “He has strong wrists. He grips the ball properly and the googlies are quite smart,” adds Singh, who has been training Zeeshan for free.
Walk around the dressing room and you would find more such stories that aren’t songs. Coming from Tonk district of Rajasthan, left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed had to travel to the academy by borrowing a friend’s bicycle. His father, a health centre assistant, didn’t like his son play. But Khaleel overcame all the odds. “Papa chahte the ke main doctor banu, par main toh sapne me bhi cricket hi dekhta tha (Dad wanted me to become a doctor, but I would dream cricket),” says the 18-year-old. There have been instances when his father would even scold him for playing. “I wanted to bowl for long time, and slowly realised that it is difficult to live without the game,” he remarks.
It’s a similar story for Bhopal’s Rahul Batham. Rahul lives in the crowded Gwal Muhalla of Roshanpura. Coming from a lower middle-class family, he took training at the Ankur Cricket Academy, but was unable to pay the fees. “We waived the fees. He is bright,” says his coach Jyoti Prakash Tyagi.
And not just these, all-rounder Mahipal Lomror has more tales to tell. When the 16-year-old from Rajasthan’s Nagaur was selected for the U-19 squad, his mother couldn’t believe that Dravid would be their coach. “We come from an area where not many have heard about the cricketers, so my mother couldn’t believe that I would be coached by someone who comes regularly on TV,” the all-rounder says. His teammates call him ‘Junior Gayle’ as they feel that his hard-hitting batting style is similar to that of the West Indies star. Ask him about that and the young gun laughs: “You need to be calculative, and use your brain. You can’t be going for sixes in every delivery,” he says, adding, “that Rahul ‘Sir’ has helped me read the game better.”
But then, there are also cases where the parents have willingly allowed their kids to play. Armaan Jaffer, the nephew of former India batsman Wasim Jaffer, has been making waves in the circuit for long. A few years ago, the Mumbai boy scored 498 in a local league match, and those who know him agree that his father Kalim Jaffer has been instrumental in making him a successful batsman. Despite hard work, the youngster wasn’t picked for the U-19 side’s Sri Lanka series, and that added fuel to the fire. “I knew there won’t be a next time, and that’s why I went on scoring big,” he says. Even for his teammate and fellow Mumbaikar Sarfaraz, father has been the source of inspiration. A coach, Naushad Khan ensured that his son played the game seriously. Even after scoring a record 439 in a Harris Shield match, Sarfaraz was not allowed to celebrate with friends. “I didn’t allow him to hang around with anyone. I didn’t even send him to any birthday parties. He was focused only on cricket,” Naushad says. He also remembers those days when Sarfaraz would sleep amid his father’s kit bag at the Azad Maidan. Perhaps, all these hardships have had roles to play in India’s success in the U-19 World Cup.
This tournament, however, has always been a happy hunting ground for the Indian colts. In 2000, they won the first title under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif. In 2008, a Virat Kohli once again guided the side to win their second title, and four years later, another Delhi youngster, Unmukt Chand, helped India clinch their third trophy. And now, as another opportunity beckons, Anmolpreet Singh, Sarfaraz and Armaan are keeping their fingers crossed.
So far, life has been good for most of them. While the young guns have tasted success on the field, six of them (Rishabh Pant, Ishan, Khaleel, Mahipal, Sarfaraz and Armaan) have also been picked up by various IPL franchises for the forthcoming season. But then, coach Dravid agrees that the journey has just begun for the new kids on the block. “It is hard to realise that at 18 or 19 which of these players will make it to the national team. The real challenge is what happens once they move out of this tournament,” Dravid says.
That speaks volumes. As long as these boys are with the U-19 side, they will be well taken care of by coach Dravid and assistant coaches Abhay Sharma and Paras Mhambrey. But what happens to them after going back home from Bangladesh remains the big question.
Being a national selector until recently, Roger Binny accepts the fact that after a certain time these lads go off the radar. “They have shown immense talent, but not many of them would make it to the main team. Unlike their Australian or South African counterparts, these youngsters somehow fail to make the transition,” Binny, who was the coach of India’s Cup-winning squad in 2000, tells The Sunday Standard. And for all the cricketers, it is important to make the transition. Captain Ishan, who is a stumper-batsman from Jharkhand, is often compared with MS Dhoni by his teammates for having similar traits. But former cricketers believe that the youngsters shouldn’t take these compliments too seriously. “Focusing on the job is more important,” Binny adds.
Even after an Anmolpreet or an Armaan scores a triple century at the junior level, it is mandatory for them to step up. “They play against the boys of their own age group. Suddenly from here, they have to play against men in the first-class system, that too against international and established Ranji Trophy players. It is quite a leap,” Dravid admits.
There has never been a dearth of talent in India. In 2004, if there was a Manvinder Bisla or an Abhisek Sharma, it was time for a Sreevats Goswami or a Saurabh Tiwary to impress in 2008. Most of them, however, couldn’t graduate to the next level. If Kohli went on to become India’s Test captain, Napoleon Einstein or Ajitesh Argal failed to cement their places even in the Ranji Trophy squads. “In our times too, a lot of players showed determination. But as they stepped into first-class cricket, some of them couldn’t even start off their career,” says Parthiv Patel, the Team India discard wicket-keeper who was the captain of the U-19 side in 2004 World Cup.
Even though Patel made it to the national team, he was slowly out of the squad. “At times, there will be frustration. The pressure will grow, and perhaps, first-class cricket is the real test for a cricketer,” Patel says.
Even these 15 players know that their lives would have a whole new meaning once they return home from Bangladesh. Perhaps, Rishabh or Sarfaraz would have to struggle harder than a Mahipal Lomror or Batham. The reason is simple. Despite playing in the same team, Armaan or Sarfaraz have become known faces compared to others. The IPL contracts and the big scores at the local cricket have set the standards high, and now each step would be monitored by the world.
Ashok Menaria, the India U-19 captain in the 2010 World Cup, who has gone through a similar situation, agrees. “There is a huge difference between U-19 cricket and the first-class cricket. Initially, the youngsters wouldn’t realise the difference, but in the end, that would make the difference,” Menaria says.
Despite leading the junior national team in a World Cup six years ago, Menaria is yet to book a place in Team India. “When we were playing at the junior level, we could play freely. But as you grow up, there’s a lot of responsibility on your shoulder, and a player is judged by the way he handles the pressure,” Menaria says.
Glitz, glamour and taking things for granted could indeed be a spoiler for the young cricketers. In the past, there have been instances where some promising players have lost the plot midway.
Former junior national selector and former U-19 team coach Chandrakant Pandit says the players need to ensure that things are on the right track. “At the international level, it is never possible to spoon-feed something. Indian youngsters have always shown great potential, and some of them have actually gone that extra mile to replace the likes of Virender Sehwag. So, once they reach the big stage, they need to fight their own battle,” Pandit points out.
In a country where cricket is nothing less than a religion, it is quite expected that the fans would go gaga over the 15 new stars. They would be treated as demigods, some would be chased by sponsors and corporate groups, while a select few would emerge as the country’s brightest talents. But amidst all that, will Ishan and company have enough time to think about the next step?
After all, in the fast lanes of cricket, one never wins silver, you only lose gold!