It was not a usual Sunday for former India pacer Abey Kuruvilla,as he woke up early morning to catch the India vs Australia U-19 World Cup final. But later,a long drive awaited him from Navi Mumbai to Azad Maidan where he was scheduled to play in the Kanga League for DY Patil team in a B division match. As chairman of junior national selection committee,Kuruvilla says he was nervous and the first thing he was hoping for,after changing into playing whites was that somehow DY Patil would bat first so he could at least stay posted with the scores. There are no TVs in any of the shanties in Azad Maidan,and it was his phone internet which was the only mode of keeping track of what was happening miles away in Townsville in Australia. At 44,there were goosebumps of a teenager. What an an exciting match,it was! A terrific win," he gushed. Sadly I couldn't see it as I was playing,but I made sure that I kept refreshing the scorecard page on the internet. Whenever I refreshed the page I just hoped that there was no bad news waiting. It was an amazing feeling,the boys played really well, Kuruvilla says. It was an exciting encounter for sure as the India colts managed to chase for a win in Australia,which has always posed stiff challenges for Indian batsmen. Unmukt Chand,India U-19 captain,became a hero with a splendid century and he was assisted by Smit Patel. The partnership was important at that stage,to win any game you need someone to carry for long. Chand and Patel did just that. I will say it was a perfect team effort,credit should also go to the support staff, he adds. It was the best combination of colts picked from across the country. The junior selection committee's job can be tough as one can't sit and pick team on the basis score sheet. Kurvilla & Co managed to mark down the best pool of 30 players last year whom they felt had shone at that level. Some missed out at the last moment,including Maharashtra's Mohsin Sayyed which gave an entry to Bengal's Ravikant Singh. We did well in the past two series. We won a quadrangular in Australia and later were joint winners in the U-19 Asia Cup. The boys have been late starters but they picked up in due course. They gelled well and the atmosphere was brilliant, the former pacer said. However,Kuruvilla feels the real challenge will start now for these bunch of boys where first class cricket awaits them. In the last few years,many have seen how U-19 players are lost in transition. The move from the small pond to the big lake has never been easy for many and only few survive ahead. They all are good players but it will be interesting to see how they do at the next level. They will face tough competition from now and graduating will not be easy for sure, the 44-year-old former Mumbai bowler explains.
