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Journalism of Courage
To understand how far the Youth World Cup has come since the inaugural event in 1988, talk to Praveen Amre. The former India bat played in that first edition as an 18-year-old and today, at 37, he is the chairman of the junior selection committee in charge of picking the squad for the latest edition, beginning in Colombo today.
Having seen it all, he sums up the difference in one phrase: The game has changed because the stakes have changed.
Today? Two 15-day camps with a physio and a computer analyst; five-star accommodation for players in Colombo, half-an-hour pre-event press conferences for each team plus 16-camera live telecast.
Nayan Mongia, Amre8217;s teammate in 1988, sees the flip side. 8216;8216;The facilities weren8217;t there but the players the first World Cup produced haven8217;t been matched by subsequent editions.8217;8217;
That first World Cup saw Nasser Hussain, Mike Atherton, Chris Cairns, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Sanath Jayasuriya, Brian Lara and Jimmy Adams. Each one of them a future national captain.
That backs up what Balwinder Singh Sandhu, coach of 1998 World Cup team, believes: Junior cricket should never be about results. 8216;8216;I will be happy if India win the World Cup. But I8217;ll probably be happier if we can spot a real talent with big-match temperament.8217;8217;
Indeed, he says early breaks after success at junior level can prove counter-productive. 8216;8216;Players with faulty technique can shine at the junior level but they get sorted out when they reach the big league,8221; he says.
Sandhu cites the example of Ambati Rayudu, India captain in the 2004 tournament. 8216;8216;The hype went to his head. And every time he lost form or didn8217;t get a break he became frustrated,8217;8217; he says.
From that high, the fall has been depressingly drastic; the last one heard of Rayudu was when he was attacked by an opponent in a Ranji match.
Jimmy Adams, manager of the West Indian team for this year8217;s edition, also stresses on the need to nurture talent. 8216;8216;The World Cup comes every two years. Individual boards should try and organise more international outings for their youth sides. The experience gained in playing away games helps a lot,8217;8217; he said.
Ask Mongia about the right age of transition and he hits the nail right on the head. 8216;8216;We in the 8217;88 team got our breaks after three or four years of domestic grind. But over the years youngsters have been blooded too early. Everybody can8217;t be a Tendulkar. There exists a huge gap between Youth World Cup and Ranji Trophy and a similar one between domestic and international standards,8217;8217; he says.
Mongia8217;s words are back up by fact see 8216;Early breaks8217;. Parthiv Patel is the prime example and the wicket-keeper in Mongia understands the problem. 8216;8216;The most difficult transition is for the bowlers and the wicket-keepers. Getting wickets and keeping wickets is much simpler at this level. At the senior level it is tough to read the bowlers when standing behind the wicket,8217;8217; he says.
Mongia got his big break in 1994, six years after playing the Youth World Cup while Parthiv had to wait for just six months. Round 1 to Parthiv. But Mongia went on to play 44 Tests and 140 ODIs in an almost uninterrupted career. Parthiv at 21 is making a comeback after he was found not up to the international standard after playing 19 Tests and 14 ODIs.
In Colombo, 15 youngsters will spend the next two weeks hoping that their performances will get them a Parthiv-like early call from Team India. They will be better advised to model themselves on Mongia.
EARLY BREAKS, HEARTBREAKS
Youth World Cup stars and what happened to them
1998
Harbhajan Singh: Got a call within months of the tournament. 21 wickets from his first 11 Tests, spent next nine Tests on sidelines, playing Ranji. Returned in 2001 for the Australian series, the rest is history
Virender Sehwag: Took three years to make it to the Test team in 2001-2002. Has played 42 Tests since, missed none on form
Laxmi Ratan Shukla: Got his big break in ODIs less than a year after the World cup. Sidelined after 3 ODIs: 1 wicket, 18 runs. Now playing Ranji Trophy for Bengal
2000
Yuvraj Singh: Made the senior team seven months after world cup win. Had an average of 21 from the first 11 ODIs he played. Made three comebacks and now, after six years, has cemented his place in both Test and ODI teams
Mohammed Kaif: Gap of 8 Tests between his first and second Test, then missed 31 Tests between 4th and 5th. After that, the stats get more bizarre. Tipped to be a future India captain but isn8217;t part of the Test team today
Reetinder Sodhi: Said to be the best junior of his generation after adding U-19 to U-15 title. Got his break in 2000 8212; only it wasn8217;t as big as we thought. For rest, see story below
Ajay Ratra: Got a call within months. After 6 Tests and 12 ODI he was replaced by Parthiv Patel. Junior vs Junior debate ended with Dhoni8217;s arrival
2002
Parthiv Patel: A grooming gone horribly wrong. Test debut six months after leading India A. 19 Tests and 14 ODIs later, a huge question mark over his international career
2004
Dinesh Kaarthik: Early break but after 10 Tests he is not even a second wicket-keeper today
RP Singh, VRV Singh and Suresh Raina: Works in progress
