6 U-19 players are ready for India A level: Fielding coach
7 Feb 2018 6:00 PM GMT
New Delhi: Fielding coach Abhay Sharma feels six members of the World Cup-winning India U-19 squad, including the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi and Kamlesh Nagarkoti, are ready to play at the India A level.
The other two, who have done enough to graduate to the A level, are spinner Anukul Roy and wicket-keeper batsman Harvik Desai, he reckoned.
Sharma, a former wicket-keeper batsman who featured in 89 First-Class games, said fast-tracking the U-19 players to the A and the senior side has its pros and cons.
"These six players are ready for the A level. I would not want to put them at the highest-level as of now. It should be a gradual process. Fast-tracking U-19 players into the national side can work both ways," Sharma said.
Out of the six players he picked, four have played either First-Class or List A cricket. Before their exploits in New Zealand, Shaw and Gill had already made an impact by scoring First-Class centuries.
Expectations have reached sky high ever since the boys won a record fourth World Cup for India. However, U-19 success doesn't guarantee that all players would be able to make the transition to higher levels, something that was echoed by coach Rahul Dravid himself.
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