The BCCI has called up 20 potential all-rounders at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru for a three-week camp, starting in August. A lot of players include Arjun Tendulkar, son of legendary Sachin Tendulkar, who recently made his Indian Premier League (IPL) debut for Mumbai Indians.
As reported by PTI, the Indian cricket board is keen to identify young multi-skilled players who could make a quick transition to the elite level. Thus, the camp at the NCA is set to be organised.
“There is an Emerging Asia Cup (U-23) also later this year and BCCI is looking at potential youngsters. The all-rounders camp is an idea of NCA’s head of cricket VVS Laxman to ensure that we develop a lot of multi-skilled players across formats,” a source from the board was quoted as saying by the agency.
The report further stated that the senior national selection committee, headed by Shiv Sunder Das (interim), has selected players based on performance and potential.
“Not everyone summoned for camp is a pure all-rounder. Some are batting all-rounders and some are the opposite. The idea is to tap the potential and help them upgrade their skills suitably for transition to next grade,” the source added.
Players summoned for the camp
Some of the more notable names include Saurashtra left-arm seamer and hard-hitting lower-order batter Chetan Sakariya, who has already played for India in 2021 and also plays in the IPL for Delhi Capitals.
There will be Punjab’s left-handed batter Abhishek Sharma, who has put in some good performances with the willow for Sunrisers Hyderabad and also bowls tight left-arm spin. Apart from Tendulkar, Goa off-spinner all-rounder Mohit Redkar has also been summoned and Rajasthan’s Manav Suthar has also made the list.
From Delhi, the two players sent are fast bowler Harshit Rana and medium pacer Divij Mehra, both of whom are handy batters.
“Harshit was in fact summoned as a net bowler with the senior Indian team to the UK for WTC finals. Accordingly, his visa and travel documents were prepared but we saw Yarra Prithviraj of Andhra being sent. But it’s good that national selectors are seriously considering his potential. He is also a handy batter, who can only get better if he works on his batting,” a senior DDCA official said.
“In case of Divij, getting a five-for against Mumbai worked for him. Plus, at the age-group level, he has scored hundreds. He is more than a handy batter,” the official added.
Tendulkar has played three IPL games and didn’t look out of place but asked the rationale behind his selection, the BCCI source said, “Arjun already has a Ranji Trophy century. A left-arm pacer who bowls between early and mid-130 kmph and bats left-handed. He brings in variety.”
But can his call-up be questioned, considering his modest performance in domestic cricket?
“It is not just about numbers but also about potential. He is 23 and has time to develop is what this (senior selection) committee thinks. Else, they wouldn’t have picked him. Yes, he only has 12 wickets from seven first-class games but he has shown a certain degree of ability and coaches will work on that,” the BCCI source added.
(With PTI Inputs)
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