UP lads rock in WC triumph
LUCKNOW: From Mohd Kaif (2000) to Shivam Mavi (2018), Uttar Pradesh cricketers have always been in the forefront to do India proud in this category (Under-19) of cricket too. Allahabad’s Kaif had led India to its first World Cup in 2000 at Colombo in Sri Lanka.
On Saturday, when Prithvi Shah-led India lifted their fourth World Cup in New Zealand defeating former champions Australia by eight wickets, UP cricketers, especially seamer Shivam Mavi and left-arm orthodox bowler Shiva Singh, let their presence felt in style.
Besides snatching the wickets of Param Uppal and Nathan A
› Absolutely thrilled by the stupendous achievement of our young cricketers. Congratulations to them on winning the Under19 World Cup. This triumph makes every Indian extremely proud NARENDRA MODI, Prime minister
McSweeney in his 10-over quota, while conceding just 36 runs, Moradabad’s Shiva, son of former Ranji Trophy cricketer Ajeet Singh, took one catch and inflicted a crucial run out, which helped India put the brakes on Australia’s run making.
In all Shiva took six wickets in the tournament, including two against Pakistan.
Noida’s Shivam Mavi, who finished with nine wickets in the mega event, including one in the final match, was a ‘terror’ with his speed for all the rivals. He emerged as India’s leading bowler in the championship,
“Yes, Shivam has been a force to reckon with his speed bowling, whereas Shiva keeps the rivals guessing with his orthodox bowling,” said junior national selector and UP’s own Gyanendra Pandey soon after India’s title triumph on Saturday.
Pandey watched the cricketers playing in the early matches of the World Cup in New Zealand last month alongside selection committee chief Venkatesh Prasad and coach Rahul Dravid.
“It’s my job to pick cricketers only on the basis of their performance and temperament. I found these players perfect for the job. In fact, they justified their selection in the team,” said Pandey, who termed the victory as ‘united effort’.
“Like others, these youngsters from UP have a lot of potential to make it to Team India, but they need consistency in their performance,” said Pandey, who had led Uttar Pradesh to their Ranji Trophy final in 1998, after a gap of 23 years.
Allabahad’s Shalabh Srivastava, who was the leading wicket taker for India in their maiden Under-19 World Cup triumph in 2000 with 14 wickets, was all praise for Shah and Co for their superb win in New Zealand. “Today, they reminded me of 2000 when we had the trophy for the first time in our hands.
The cricketers in the present under-19 team are exceptional and I can see many of them making it to Team India in future,” said Shalabh.
Cricketers like Varanasi’s Mritunjay Tripathi, Suresh Raina from Ghaziabad, RP Singh from Rae Bareli, Praveen Gupta from Meerut, Allahabad’s Ravikant Shukla, Moradabad’s Piyush Chawla, Allahabad’s Zahid Ali, Chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav from Kanpur and Sarfaraz Khan from Azamgarh, Lucknow’s Akshdeep Nath and Zeeshan Ansari; Sarfaraz Khan and Shubham Mavi of Bulandsahar also showed proved their mettle in subsequent World Cups tournaments.
But there was something very special in 2008 when India bagged their second World Cup under the leadership of Virat Kohli. Lucknow’s Tanmay Srivastava and Iqbal Abdulla from Azamgarh were the stars in the triumph.
While Tanmay with 262 runs emerged highest run getter in the event, Abdulla was adjudged the leading wicket taker with 10 wickets.
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Today, they reminded me of 2000 when we had the trophy for the first time in our hands. The cricketers in the present under19 team are exceptional and I can see many of them making it to Team India in future SHALABH SRIVASTAVA, Cricketer