India A8217; squad upbeat on going Dutch

NEW DELHI, July 23: The Board of Control for Cricket in India's BCCI concept of giving frequent international exposure to cricketers wh...

NEW DELHI, July 23: The Board of Control for Cricket in India8217;s BCCI concept of giving frequent international exposure to cricketers who have, for some reason or the other, not been able to make it to the highest ranks, have now borne fruit. The India under-19 tour to South Africa and India A8217; team8217;s visit to Pakistan in recent months have helped tap talent that was already there in abundance and produce good youngsters for future Indian teams.

The names of Ajit Agarkar and Harbhajan Singh come to mind immediately as two fine examples of young cricketers getting the right break and exposure during these tours and making their grand entry8217; into the national squad.Krishnamachari Srikkanth played a major role as a coach in shaping the destiny of these youngsters.

He motivated them and shared with them his own experiences as a member of the Indian squad that won many laurels at the international level, including the 1983 World Cup in England and the 1986 World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

Thedashing former India opening batsman is once again entrusted with the job of taking a 14-member India A8217; squad on a three-week tour of Holland where they play a few three-day and one-day games against Denmark and Holland.

The team is scheduled to leave for Amsterdam on the night of July 26. The team members all 14 of them along with manager Kirti Azad were at the new-look Nehru Stadium nets on a hot Thursday afternoon for 8220;collective training.8221;

All the members as well as the two former India stars were keen and excited about the tour. 8220;The boys are raring to go and have promised to give off their best,8221; Srikkanth said after he held a team meeting in the hotel room prior to reaching the ground for a practice session.

8220;Such tours by India A8217; teams are definitely beneficial as a team-building effort for the future. It has proved in the past as seen in the cases of Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, MSK Prasad and Sanjay Raul,8221; he said. Several cricketers, who were part of the India A8217; team8217;s tour ofPakistan are here in this squad as well.