"India has the most talented youngsters in the world"

[rahuldravidfan]

Hello. I recently got an opportunity to cover the Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 trophy, my first assignment. And a cherry on the cake was the presence of some of India's biggest superstars -

Zaheer Khan
Rohit Sharma
Yusuf Pathan
Parthiv Patel
Wasim Jaffer
Ajit Agarkar

Upcoming talent namely Dhawal Kulkarni, Ajinkya Rahane, Azhar Bilakhia, Siddharth Trivedi, Harshad Khadiwale, Rohit Motwani, Kedar Jadhav, Pinal Shah, Paul Valthaty, Niraj Patel, Abhishek Raut, among many others were going to be a part of this T20 extravaganza.

The target of the interview - David Andrews (Director of the Maharashtra U11, U17 & U19 teams).

The objective - Analysis of the performance of the young Indian players from Maharashtra.

I met the Gujarat & Baroda players a day earlier and the Maharashtra vs Mumbai game, a match between 2 big rivals, was one of the biggest fixtures of the tournament.

As I stepped into the Players' Pavilion during the game, I felt a bit overawed. Next to me was the guy I'm a huge fan of, Zaheer Khan, who looked a bit tensed as his Mumbai skipper Wasim Jaffer, had just lost his wicket with the score at 77/4 in 10 overs, chasing a mammoth total of 177, set by Maharashtra, which was powered by Harshad Khadiwale & Rohit Motwani's awesome knocks.

Despite the pressure, when I approached him with a nervous "hello", with a pleasant smile on his face he greeted me back with a "Hi". "I am a huge fan of yours, Zak. I've been watching you on TV for a long time but talking to you face-to-face, its surreal Sir", I said, like a nervous-wreck. He smiled back and said, "Thank You. I'm just Zaheer Khan".

As I made a move towards the Maharashtra end of the Pavilion, sitting near the gate of the pavilion was Ajit Agarkar, all padded up, bat in hand, ready to go. Rohit Sharma was inside the dressing room listening to some "words of wisdom" from the Mumbai coach Pravin Amre after his run-out 3 overs back, which put his team in jeopardy.

Mumbai are the glamour boys, they have players from the National side playing for them and wherever, they play, they are billed to be the outright favourites. Maharashtra however, is a team with some of the most exciting young talent in the country, waiting for an opportunity to make a mark. Extra motivation was the fact that representatives of the National selectors were gonna be present for the match to keep a tab on Zaheer's fitness.

And the added incentive did the trick as Maharashtra won the game by 10 runs, on the back of fantastic performances by Harshad Khadiwale, who scored 75 off just 43 balls & Sajin Sureshnath, who ended up as the pick of the bowlers, with figures of 3/31.

As the game ended, people mobbed the players for autographs and snaps. I was standing in the pavilion, having a word with Rohit Motwani, when people suddenly mobbed me for autographs and wanted to take a snap with me. I guess wearing the Team India jersey surely helps.

Now onto the question-

1. RDF- Mr.David Andrews, congrats on the win. Maharashtra beat their fancied rivals today.
DA- Yes. Mumbai is a strong team and they came into this game winning 3 on the trot. But Harshad played a sensible knock, Sajin got the crucial wickets and the team played as a collective unit. Winning against Mumbai, which boasts of likes of Zaheer Khan, Rohit Sharma, Wasim Jaffer & Ajit Agarkar, makes it all the more special.

2. RDF- How was the atmosphere in the dressing room, coming into this game?
DA- Look, we came into the game with a positive mindset. We knew that if we can tackle the early overs from Zaheer and Ajit while batting and get quick wickets upfront while bowling, the game was ours. The plans fell into place and the boys pulled it off.

3. RDF- Talking about Zaheer Khan, how do you rate Zak, who is arguably India's best bowler?
DA- Zaheer is such an amazing talent. He is a great prospect not just for India but for the game on the whole. What has been really good to see is the way he has matured as a player. He went for some pounding early in his career. But he learned his lessons fast and has emerged as one of the better bowlers in world cricket. You can learn a lot from him, only by watching him.

4. RDF- Talking about talent, what is your opinion about India's youngsters?
DA- Well, India has the most talented youngsters in the world. The passion these young boys have for the game is unparalleled. They are aggressive, young and take everything against them as a challenge and their will to succeed gets them through some tough times.

5. RDF- What are some of the major challenges, according to you, faced by the players at the U11, U17 & U19 levels?
DA- There is a lot of competition in India. You have a million people wanting to be the next Sachin Tendulkar or the next Harbhajan Singh. Its really exciting to see the young boys, full of enthusiasm, coming through various competitions. India has great infrastructure and these boys make the best use of it. But they often take a lot of things to heart and a bad inning keeps on playing in their mind. But again, they learn fast. Indian youngsters are tough characters.

6. RDF- As a mentor of the youngsters, what do you tell them after watching them often concentrating on having an elocution competition with the opposition, rather than concentrating on the game at hand?
DA- (Laughs) Look, its a part of the game and you should know how to use it to your advantage. Playing with a batsman's mind as a bowler is a good thing. Exchanging a few words in response to something said is okay to a certain extent. But you should know your boundaries and respect the laws. Also, you shouldn't forget that the main motive of you playing a tactic is to unsettle the opponent and not yourself. An in-your-face attitude is good but yeah, at the end of the day, make sure you have the numbers to back you.

7. RDF- The Indian youngsters, not only at the domestic, but also at the international level, are a far cry from what they used to be 10 years back. Instead of ignoring the sledges like Sachin & Dravid would, our youngsters are never short of a word when targeted by the opposition. Do you approve of this approach, which is often at the cost of performance?
DA- The times are changing. Previously, players would ignore the words spoken by the opposition but now everyone, not just the Indian players, play with a lot of pride and have become very competitive. They have a bit of a go at each other. And you need to silence them. I wouldn't mind seeing the players having a go at each other, but I agree, they shouldn't do it at the cost of their performance.

8. RDF- According to you, which batsmen from the Maharashtra team, stand a chance of playing in the Indian colors soon?
DA- I think Harshad & Kedar Jadhav stand a good chance of getting a call-up to the Indian team. Having said that, Rohit Motwani is equally talented and can be playing for India soon.

9. RDF- Who do you think, among the bowlers from your team, can burst on to the international stage?
DA- Sajin Sureshnath has been in good form and Samad Fallah is a very exciting young talent. Ganesh Gaikwad has some great talent and I think these guys stand a good chance for a national call-up.

10. RDF- To conclude, what advice would you give to any youngster, aiming to make it big in cricket?
DA- Be confident, stick to the basics, don't get bogged down by failure. Make the best of any given opportunity. If you work hard, success will find you sooner or later. These are exciting times for India, concentrate on your game and put in efforts. You will shine

On this positive note, I bid adieu.

[MaD]

I don't think India does, it depends what you define youngster as
Zaheer Khan
Rohit Sharma
Yusuf Pathan
Parthiv Patel
Wasim Jaffer
Ajit Agarkar
Have all played Internationally, the aren't as young now, I would say
a youngster is a domestic cricketer that hasn't been given a chance in
the international side, like Einstein.

[Howsie]

It takes more then raw talent to succeed at the international level

[SaiSrini]

Originally Posted by Madhur

I don't think India does, it depends what you define youngster as
Zaheer Khan
Rohit Sharma
Yusuf Pathan
Parthiv Patel
Wasim Jaffer
Ajit Agarkar
Have all played Internationally, the aren't as young now, I would say
a youngster is a domestic cricketer that hasn't been given a chance in
the international side, like Einstein.

You didnt read it properly. He did not mention the above guys as 'youngsters' or the title does not point to these guys. It points to the current Indian youngsters who are talented in the game and are waiting for the opportunities.

[rahuldravidfan]

Originally Posted by Howsie

It takes more then raw talent to succeed at the international level

Agreed. And Ans.10 pretty much solved my queries on it

Originally Posted by saisrini80

You didnt read it properly. He did not mention the above guys as 'youngsters' or the title does not point to these guys. It points to the current Indian youngsters who are talented in the game and are waiting for the opportunities.

Yep. I guess Madhur skipped some important details while making a read

[mdoggie]

Originally Posted by Madhur

I don't think India does, it depends what you define youngster as
Zaheer Khan
Rohit Sharma
Yusuf Pathan
Parthiv Patel
Wasim Jaffer
Ajit Agarkar
Have all played Internationally, the aren't as young now, I would say
a youngster is a domestic cricketer that hasn't been given a chance in
the international side, like Einstein.

I just want him to play because of his awesome name.

Who has the best youngersters is a very subjective thing because it's performances in domestic competitions. Just because you perform well in a domestic tournament, doesn't necessarily mean you are a good player at the international level. That being said, of the countries other than South Africa (due to obvious bias) Australia looks like it has the best youngsters.

By the way, nice article

[rahuldravidfan]

Originally Posted by mdoggie

I just want him to play because of his awesome name.

Who has the best youngersters is a very subjective thing because it's performances in domestic competitions. Just because you perform well in a domestic tournament, doesn't necessarily mean you are a good player at the international level. That being said, of the countries other than South Africa (due to obvious bias) Australia looks like it has the best youngsters.

By the way, nice article

Thanks buddy. Appreciate it. Glad you liked the article

[Slowcoach]

"Talent"?

And what is the end result of this "Talent"?

A team which still relies on Dravid and Tendulkar to bail them out on anything other than a road of a pitch?

India is an average team, with an average amount of talent.

[boney_g]

Originally Posted by Slowcoach

"Talent"?

And what is the end result of this "Talent"?

A team which still relies on Dravid and Tendulkar to bail them out on anything other than a road of a pitch?

India is an average team, with an average amount of talent.

ok

[rahuldravidfan]

Originally Posted by Slowcoach

"Talent"?

And what is the end result of this "Talent"?

A team which still relies on Dravid and Tendulkar to bail them out on anything other than a road of a pitch?

India is an average team, with an average amount of talent.

Average amount of talent? We are a billion average people? What a wonderful argument there

You know we have more ATM machines in our country than the people you have in yours

[hMarka]

Having a horrible overpopulation problem is not exactly someting to boast about.

[Gazza]

You can't underestimate the depth of India's cricketing wealth. As a country stricken by poverty it's incredible that they have so many incredible cricketers.

The streets is where it all begins!

EDIT: Agree with Hmarka

[SaiSrini]

Originally Posted by Slowcoach

"Talent"?

And what is the end result of this "Talent"?

A team which still relies on Dravid and Tendulkar to bail them out on anything other than a road of a pitch?

India is an average team, with an average amount of talent.

Gambhir and Dhoni have emerged as the next guys who can resurrect us on challenging pitches. Tendulkar is not as reliable as before on tough pitches. Dravid still is, but he also endured a tough period in the middle from 2007-08.

Playing well on different pitches is one type of talent, but its not the 'all to be' for a batsman. Its how he scores against what type of bowliing in what type of conditions is what you call 'talent'.

saisrini80 added 0 Minutes and 45 Seconds later...

Originally Posted by Gazza_11

You can't underestimate the depth of India's cricketing wealth. As a country stricken by poverty it's incredible that they have so many incredible cricketers.

The streets is where it all begins!

EDIT: Agree with Hmarka

Thanks for the compliment and praise of India's cricketing wealth. Nice to note that you have such views.

[hMarka]

No one doubts that India has talent, they have the largest pool to pick from, its just that they do not groom the younsters as well as the Aussies or Saffers.

[Insomniac]

Umar Akmal and Mohammad Aamer say hello.