India's next-gen arrive for World Cup amid changed perceptions, new landscape

In 2018, Rahul Dravid, then head coach of India Under-19s, was unequivocal about players being allowed to have no more than just one crack at junior cricket's biggest prize - the Under-19 World Cup. Dravid reasoned that players would stagnate if they overstayed their welcome. The move greatly helped reduce cases of age-fudging, while also directly putting the onus on the players to make the step up.

Until recently, the tournament was seen as a launchpad for players to pitch for higher honours. Shubman Gill, player of the tournament in 2018, made his senior team debut within a year. Prithvi Shaw, who led that victorious team, was fast-tracked even earlier. But things are different six years on.

The Under-19 World Cup has become just one of many avenues for players to showcase their abilities. Robust IPL scouting at state-level tournaments and franchise leagues, such as the Maharashtra Premier League (MPL) or Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) have softened the impact for players who don't make the India Under-19 cut. It's under this changing landscape that India enter the 2024 Under-19 World Cup as defending champions.

Allrounder Arshin Kulkarni was a find at the inaugural MPL. Despite featuring in only three games, he hit six more sixes (19) than any other batter in a tournament where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kedar Jadhav and Rahul Tripathi participated. Those exploits earned him a senior team debut for Maharashtra at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. He's one of only two players in the current squad to be signed at the IPL auction, by Lucknow Super Giants.

Aravelly Avanish, one of two wicketkeepers in the India Under-19 World Cup squad, made heads turn at the quadrangular series in November. He walked into bat at 95 for 5 in a mammoth chase of 376 and ended up smashing 163 off 93 balls, including 13 sixes, to help his side win. He topped that feat by smashing 274 runs in six innings at the Vinoo Mankad Trophy (Under-19 one-day competition), striking at 148. These performances earned him a List A debut with Hyderabad at the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He was signed by Chennai Super Kings.

Musheer Khan, one of two allrounders in India's current Under-19 World Cup squad, has already made his senior state debut for Mumbai on the back of exploits at the age-group level, when he led Mumbai to the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy last year, where he was adjudged Player of the Tournament for his 632 runs and 32 wickets.

Uday Saharan, the captain, who hails from Sri Ganganagar in Rajasthan, shifted base to Bhatinda to pursue cricket after his father, who was also his first coach, was convinced of his talent. Saharan led Punjab's U-14s and U-16s and emerged as a prolific run-getter at the U-19s.

There's another diametrically opposite case of Prakhar Chaturvedi, who missed the under-19 bus, but has managed to attract attention with his record-breaking quadruple century in the Cooch Behar Trophy final for Karnataka earlier this week, with talks of a Ranji debut gaining steam.

Cases like Musheer, Avanish, Chaturvedi and Kulkarni underline how the perception that the Under-19 World Cup is a launch vehicle for young Indian cricketers to pitch for higher honours is slowly changing. While it's true the tournament can fast-track players, like Shaw or Gill were on the back of a title-winning run in New Zealand, the reverse is also true.

Ask Arshdeep Singh, who was a reserve fast bowler in that victorious class of 2018, but has now leapfrogged his batch mates to become a key member of India's white-ball attacks. No bowler has played more matches or taken more wickets than him in T20Is since 2023. In comparison, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, India's bowling MVP in that tournament, and touted as a future star finds himself out of sight. He's neither in the mix for his state side Rajasthan nor has he found takers in the IPL after the early euphoria of his age-group days. Manjot Kalra, who hit a match-winning century in that final, has disappeared into the oblivion, having tried to fight a cruel system in Delhi.

"At the age-group level, there's a tendency for young players to let coaches do the thinking for them," explains Devdutt Padikkal, who narrowly missed out on being picked for the Under-19 World Cup in 2018 but has forced his way into the reckoning through domestic cricket and IPL. "As a young cricketer, you need to challenge that notion. This is what being part of the NCA high-performance camp taught us. There was a lot of focus on developing personalities, not just a squad for the World Cup."

That aspect of player development has remained robust even in 2024. However, India's build-up has been low-key, partly due to some restructuring at a management level. It wasn't until June that BCCI appointed a chairperson for the men's junior selection panel. This has meant fewer opportunities for the management to have a look at a larger pool of players.

For perspective, between 2016 and 2018, as many as 27 players were part of the Under-19 system for India at different stages. The team played two full series, home and away, against England, featured in two Asia Cups, followed by a quadrangular series with Bangladesh and Afghanistan. These were outside the Under-19 domestic tournament and the Challenger series where several others got opportunities.

It helped then that Dravid donned the role of a head coach both at the Under-19s as well as India A. It led to continuity in the transition phase, which players like Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan benefitted from. Dravid consulted state coaches regarding certain players, and meticulously ensured the system looked after them.

Dravid has since handed the baton to VVS Laxman, and while much of the processes remain the same, there are still some significant changes. The investment into grassroots cricket hasn't quite been the same, for a multitude of reasons - covid being one of them - which has meant the selectors have had fewer options than earlier to formulate their squads. Which perhaps explains why players like Chaturvedi may have slipped through the cracks.

The current batch only came together in August for a series of NCA camps and have had just two proper tournaments - Asia Cup and the recently concluded tri-series in South Africa to prepare, outside of BCCI's domestic tournaments. At the Asia Cup, India were knocked out in the semi-final, but the graph has significantly gone up since then with the side remaining unbeaten to clinch the tri-series.

For long, India have profited from a robust system that has delivered impeccable results at the U-19s. For the first time in a while, that foundation has looked a tad shaky, with some of the other teams matching India in terms of preparedness. Whatever the end result may be, age-group players are unlikely to slip into oblivion like they did two decades ago. Remember Gaurav Dhiman from the class of 2004?

The hype around them, irrespective of whether they win or lose, will continue to multiply several folds, due to the sheer weight of opportunities. And for that, they have the system to thank.