NEW DELHI, JANUARY 10: That March '93 afternoon, when the Punjab cricket team was swaying to the strains of bhangra in the makeshift dressing room of the Punjab Agriculture University in Ludhiana after Bishan Singh Bedi guided a bunch of no-hopers to a Ranji Trophy win, young Jalandhar batsman Amit Sharma was the toast. Playing only his second Ranji Trophy game, Amit's 170-plus knock had fashioned the wonderful script for his team, besides earning him the `Man of the Final' award.Though Punjab's senior team hasn't matched the Ranji Trophy win again, the juniors have been doing that with a remarkable consistency. Punjab's win in this season's Cooch Behar championships at Jamshedpur was their fifth in eight years. Besides, the Under-16 side has also won the Vijay Merchant Trophy.It's not only the victories but the manner in which they have been accomplished. A score of 839 for 5 in the final against Bihar at Jamshedpur, out of which the left-handed skipper Yuvaraj Singh alone hammered 358, conveysPunjab's aura of invincibility at least when it comes to the age-group tournaments.No surprise, four Reetinder Sodhi, Yuvraj, Munish Sharma and Ravneet Ricky of the 14-member Indian team for this month's Junior World Cup, being played in Sri Lanka, are from Punjab.It needs much more than sheer luck or talent to be such a dominant force in junior cricket. Take a look at this year's Under-19 team: skipper Yuvraj, who made his Ranji Trophy debut three years ago, took a hundred off the Haryana side in Ranji Trophy this season while Sandeep Sawal and Ricky are in their second season each in first-class cricket.Reetinder Sodhi did not play the Cooch Behar Trophy as he was assisting the North Zone team in Duleep Trophy! Then, the competition within the team: Vivek Mahajan, who scored an unbeaten double hundred in the final, could not even make it to the World Cup probables list.Those who have been closely watching the growth of Punjab cricket may recall the way cricket is played throughout the year inthe state. Inter-district and pre-state tournaments are played over two or three-day basis on turf wickets, and are supervised by the Punjab Cricket Association panel umpires.The coaching-cum-practice camps are a serious affair and the youngsters rub shoulders with the Ranji Trophy team in the off-season camp. Watch the youngsters fielding and you would be pleasantly surprised. Of course, practising on the lush green PCA Stadium outfield is going to be of great help.The teenage prodigies are thus nurtured and readied for the bigger league. Players like Pankaj Dharmani, Harvinder Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Dinesh Mongia, Sarandeep Singh and Harminder Jugnu have come into prominence because of their consistency in junior cricket.The success story of Punjab's junior cricketers can serve as a case study for the Indian Board on how to harvest talent and turn prodigies into stars.
