
If you8217;re preparing for a cricket world cup, no one better to talk to than Kapil Dev. So the India Under-19 team, which heads off to Bangladesh later this month for their Holy Grail, took down copious metaphorical notes at an interface here last night.
Kapil spoke at length about his start as a under-19 cricketer and his initial struggle as he tried to drive home the point of 8216;taking pride8217; while playing. 8216;8216;Cricket unites the country so you have a responsibility on your shoulders. This is the starting point 8212; but only if you start this way now will you continue climbing up.8217;8217;
Later, talking to the press, Kapil 8212; who will be in Dhaka for the tournament 8212; avoided singling out any player as future talent but instead said: 8216;8216;Please do not put pressure on them.8217;8217; Others who spoke included former Test stars Eknath Solkar, Dilip Sardesai and Paras Mhambrey. Solkar spoke on fielding as a means of enhancing team play. 8216;8216;Concentrate on the fielding and try and take whatever catches come your way, because that way you can only improve your chances to win8217;8217;, he said. Solkar, who also said they should take full advantage of the facilities and media exposure present-day cricketers enjoy, singled out Praful Waghela as one for the future 8212; 8216;8216;not only because he is from Mumbai!8217;8217; The only notable absentee under-19s coach Robin Singh, who was in Chennai for 8216;8216;personal meetings8217;8217;.
Theme for a team
Much like their seniors, the juniors may adopt a theme for the World Cup. Captain Amabati Rayudu said there was none yet but they may do so when playing Australia:8216;8216;We have not played as a team so far, so we haven8217;t had the chance to formulate a theme.8217;8217; He said that, during the Asia Cup in Pakistan last September, the team had a single point theme: 8216;Enjoy yourself8217;. 8216;8216;And it worked.8217;8217;