The 3 rising stars from Indian Under-19 cricket

Indian cricket will forever be remembered for the era before Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar and the era after he stepped aside and made way for newcomers to come forward and represent their country. It’d be unfair, perhaps even impossible for us to think that there’ll be another Sachin Tendulkar, but, surely, India has enough bright future prospects in its ranks, for the fans to hope for another future cricketing legend from our country: someone with his own unique identity, style and his own way of going about breaking records.

There was a time when no one believed – not even cricketing greats/commentators – that there can ever be a player who will break Don Bradman’s record of 30 Test centuries, but it was a stout little cricketer from Mumbai, Sunil Gavaskar, who not only broke Bradman’s record but set a new record of 34 centuries. It was then broken by Lara, who was then surpassed by another Indian great in Tendulkar.

I’m implying one simple fact: players come and go and records are meant to be broken. It’d be unfair, though, to consistently compare say, Virat Kohli to Tendulkar. Making comparisons can never be good for 2 individual cricketers, or sportsmen for that matter. Every sportsman wants to make his own unique name.

This article is about something that every Indian cricket fan looks forward to, i.e., the next Indian great from India or, in simpler words, the next ‘gem’ from India that can break Tendulkar’s records.

Arman Jaffer (Image credits: NDTV)

The best stage to identify the potential of a cricketer is when he plays at the school level because this is where every young cricketer gets to sharpen his game, learn about pressure and develop a unique style, with the intent of making it big someday.

I’ll name 3 such players who have hit the headlines in the last few years because of their record-breaking batting efforts at the school cricket level, which has raised the hopes among every Indian cricket fan. For others who haven’t heard of them, through this article, you will get to know more.

Arman Jaffer:

Arman Jaffer‘s uncle Wasim Jaffer has been a consistent run-scorer for the Mumbai Ranji team for many years now and has even represented India.

Taking the family name forward, Arman hit the headlines when he broke the record for the highest individual runs in the Harris Shield Tournament in 2013. Arman made 473 runs off 359 balls, hitting 65 fours and 16 sixes in an innings that lasted 437 minutes, at the Matunga Gymkhana Ground. Prior to this marathon knock, Arman had scored a massive 498 in a Giles Shield Match, but this innings gave him the much deserved limelight.

Later that year, in June 2013, Arman was included in the list of 30 probables for the Mumbai Ranji team, which meant that he was without doubt catching the attention of the selectors. At the age of 16, that was a massive achievement for this boy from Mumbai, who certainly has a very bright future ahead.

Sarfaraz Khan:

Sarfaraz Khan grabbed the limelight after he broke Tendulkar’s record for the highest individual score in a Harris Shield match. Khan made 439 to achieve the feat. This led to Khan getting a call-up from the U-19 selectors, and, at the mere age of 15, he got a chance to represent his country’s U-19 team.

Sarfaraz then flew to the UAE in early 2014 to represent India in the U-19 World Cup. At such a young age, an average person gets to admire their stars on the TV, whereas Sarfaraz had the golden opportunity to play in a tournament watched by billions of people all around the world.

Even though India couldn’t manage to get past the quarter-finals in the tournament, Sarfaraz got a terrific stage to showcase his talent as he managed to pile on bucketload of runs for his team and grab the eye balls of many.

Sarfaraz Khan of India bats during the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2014 match between India and Scotland at the Dubai Sports City Cricket Stadium on February 17, 2014 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Against the arch-rivals Pakistan, Sarfaraz made a gutsy 74 off 78 and took India to a respectable position, which helped the bowlers to deliver a 40-run victory. In the next match against Scotland, India’s batting had again collapsed and was relying on the shoulders of Sarfaraz. This pressure in terms of the match situation was greater as compared to the game against Pakistan. Indian spinners had left the Scotland team helpless and looking for answers as they were bundled out for 88. India, in reply, found themselves in a terrible position, losing 5 wickets for just 22 runs.

I had the golden opportunity of watching this innings live on TV. I could see the sense of calmness that this young lad had. I’ve been a close follower of U-19 cricket, especially in the last 10 years, and I’ve to say that Sarfaraz is one special talent; all those who saw him bat in this match will without doubt echo me. Sarfaraz started his innings by taking singles, keeping his cool knowing that India had this match in their bag. He was very well supported by Deepak Hooda from the other end, and both of them managed to successfully guide India to the finishing line. Sarfaraz made an unbeaten 45* off 51 balls, with 5 boundaries and 1 six.

During the later part of his innings when India needed less than 20 runs to win, Sarfaraz unleashed an array of big shots and convincingly clinched the victory for India. Even though the tournament yielded nothing fruitful for India in terms of team’s perspective, our country sure did find a very bright future prospect in Sarfaraz Khan.

Prithvi Shaw:

Prithvi Shaw (Image credits: The Hindu)

Prithvi Shaw is another youngster making his way through the ranks of school cricket. Shaw was in the news just few months back after he piled on great runs in the Harris Shield last year, also recording a massive score of 546 in an inter-school tournament: since 1901, this is the highest score by any batsmen in an organized form of cricket in India and 3rd-highest all over the cricketing world.

Shaw’s innings of 546 lasted for a span of six hours and included 85 fours and 5 sixes. This knock was ideally placed as it came just after 3 weeks post Tendulkar’s retirement, who, in 1988, scored 326 runs in this very tournament to grab media’s attention.

He has been a massive run-scorer at the school cricket level, and this gave him the opportunity of going to England on scholarship and sharpen his game. From a few of his interviews that I’ve watched, the confidence in him is clearly visible and the intent to play for India and break Tendulkar’s record is quite evident, as well. Like every youngster, he, too, wants to be the next ‘Sachin Tendulkar’, but, with his own unique batting style and the potential that he’s been blessed with, there’s no one stopping him from achieving his dream.

So, these are the big ‘3’ from the Indian U-19 level cricket. The intriguing fact is that all 3 of them belong to Mumbai or places close to the city from where India got its 2 legends in Gavaskar and Tendulkar.

Can these 3 be the next ‘big 3’ for Indian cricket and become the backbone of India’s batting order?

It wouldn’t be fair to put too much pressure on them at this young age, though. Nevertheless, as an Indian cricket fan, the future looks bright.

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Edited by Staff Editor