force

left-arm spinner in the world, and the second-best overall behind Graeme Swann. But you can only compare apples with apples – and it’s plaudits like these which can often send young athletes down the wrong road.

Greats such as Tendulkar and Ponting never played in an Under-19 World Cup. India’s Rohit Sharma and Australia’s Moises Henriques both shone in the 2006 edition, yet both have found international cricket thoroughly miserable. Lara, Jayasuriya, Kohli – none of these names were the top run-scorers in their respective tournaments. There was some brilliant cricket played in Townsville, and no doubt there was an abundance of talent on display – but part of the fascination of the U-19 World Cup is seeing how they develop from here. There’s still one more step to go – who will put their triumphantly carried home the World Cup. Winning against Australia has become almost as prestigious as a win against hereditary arch-rivals Pakistan, and cricket-loving Indians were quick to shower appreciation on these young stars.

The triumphant U-19 Indian cricket team arrived home to a euphoric reception in Mumbai.

As Delhi boy and skipper Unmukt Chand came out of the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport terminal holding the trophy, celebrations broke out.

Mumbaiite Harmeet Singh’s relatives and friends also turned up in large numbers and carried a huge cutout of the spinner.

“I am very happy. We played well in Australia and won it. It’s a proud feeling,” said Chand, who is the third captain after Mohammed

CaptainUnmuktChand

Kaif and Virat Kohli to lead the country to the under-19 World Cup title.

In Kolkata, a host of Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) officials and a large number of East Bengal fan club members waited at the NSC Bose International Airport here to greet Ravikant Singh and Sandipan Das, the two cricketers from Bengal who were in the winning squad. With 12 wickets, Ravikant finished as the most successful Indian bowler in the tournament played in Australia.

In the melee of fans eager to greet the young cricketers, their families were pushed to the sidelines and security personnel had to intervene, getting the cricketers into their cars in a hurry, thus cutting the celebrations short.

However, the glory of the win was overwhelming, as Ravikant stated. “We were over the moon. Never in my life was I so happy,” he said adding, “I owe a lot to captain Unmukt (Chand). I came into the team as a replacement but he showed faith in me and gave me confidence. Unmukt is a batsman, but he is a bowlers’ captain.”

Unmukt is now richer not just in experience, but also financially as the state of Uttarakhand announced a cash reward of Rs.11 lakh for the young cricketing star who hit a match-winning unbeaten century in the final.

Although Unmukt plays for Delhi in domestic cricket, he hails from Khudku Bhalya village in Uttarakhand’s Pithoragarh district. Officials said the state was also considering felicitating the entire

U-19 cricket team.

And while accolades have been pouring in, the International Cricket Council (ICC) president Alan Isaac also congratulated the Indian team for winning the U-19 World Cup for the third time. “It has been an incredible performance by India. The way the team bounced back after losing the tournament opener reflects the talent and self-confidence of the side. And with captain Unmukt Chand leading the side from the front with a century in the final, it just sums up three great weeks for them in Townsville,” said Issac.

Ironic loss over win

And in what can only be termed as a bizarrely typical situation, Unmukt Chand was disallowed by St Stephen’s College in Delhi to sit for his annual exam because his class attendance was poor. Unmukt was forced to approach the Delhi High Court petitioning that he was unable to attend classes because of cricket matches, including the Indian Premier League. He requested the High Court to ask his college to allow him to sit for the annual exam. Fortunately, the Association of Old Stephanians are backing up the talented cricketer, and have appealed to St Stephen’s College and Delhi University “to take necessary steps to ensure that promising sportspersons are encouraged to perform better and bring laurels to the country”. It’s the old familiar argument between academics and sports. So who will be the winner?