5 most promising U-20 cricketers from India
There was a lot of buzz regarding the squad selection leading to the World Cup. Would MSK Prasad, chief selector of the Indian National Team, and committee select experience over youth? Would Rishabh Pant be selected because of his big-hitting ability or would it have to be Dinesh Karthik's experience that would be accounted for (he played the 2007 World Cup)?
Investment in youth
When MS Dhoni was the captain, he emphasized on the need to experiment with the squad by including young players. One such example was the inclusion of Rohit Sharma in the 2008 Commonwealth Bank Series in Australia. He was just 20 then.
After a successful 2006 U-19 World Cup campaign where India lost to Pakistan in the final, he was drafted into the squad for the inaugural World T20 in 2007. He delivered by scoring a gritty half-century in a crunch tie against the hosts South Africa, and overall had a good tournament.
Scouting and grooming young talent
The Indian Premier League has become a great platform for young cricketers to showcase their talent. The league has given us many cricketers who have gone on to make their debut for India.
Another platform which has been a rich source of players with great potential is the Ranji Trophy (and other domestic tournaments such as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy).
Players such as Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shardul Thakur made their debut for India owing to consistently good performances for several seasons in the domestic tournaments.
Scouting is another way to unearth rare talent, and the IPL is directly related. John Wright, head coach of Mumbai Indians, spotted Jasprit Bumrah's awkward yet effective action during a West Zone T20 game in 2013 (he was only 18 back then). He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians, and the rest, as we all know, is history.
The players who perform well at the youth levels, most importantly at the U-19 level, are snapped up by the teams from IPL. Virat Kohli and Manish Pandey were picked up by Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2008, while Ravindra Jadeja represented Rajasthan Royals.
Kohli made his debut against Sri Lanka in August 2008 under the stewardship of MS Dhoni, and Jadeja made his debut in February 2009, against Sri Lanka. Rishabh Pant, who represented India U-19 at the 2016 ICC U-19 World Cup, made his international debut a year later in 2017.
We take a look at the five finest and most exciting prospects who could have a very promising and long future with the Indian cricket team, including a few of those who have already made their debut for India.
5. Kamlesh Nagarkoti
19-year-old Kamlesh Nagarkoti decimated batting line-ups of the opposition teams at the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2018 with his pace. He consistently generated speeds in the higher 140s and almost clicked 150 kph in a game against Australia. His average speed during the game was 143.6 kph.
The Rajasthan bowler made his List A debut during the 2016-17 season of the Vijay Hazare Trophy and just two days after making his debut, he snapped up a hat-trick in a game against Gujarat, making him the first-ever Rajasthan bowler to pick up a hat-trick in List A cricket. He also has a half-century to his name.
He was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders during the 2018 Indian Premier League auctions for Rs. 3.2 Crore, a considerably large fee for a teenager. Unfortunately, he was ruled out for the entire season, and in spite of being retained for the subsequent season, he got injured again and missed the 2019 season as well.
We have been unlucky not to see him in action for a long time. However, it won't be too long before he dons the Blue jersey and adds firepower to an already potent Indian pace attack. How good a duo would he make with Jasprit Bumrah!