The best is yet to come, says Sharath

The COVID-19 pandemic made life extremely difficult for the five-member junior national selection committee, which had next to no time to pick India’s squad for the Under-19 World Cup in the West Indies.

But boy, what a terrific job did it do to assemble the ‘Class of 2022’! After being brought on board by the BCCI in late September 2021, Sridharan Sharath and Co. had just three competitions (Vinoo Mankad Trophy, six-team Challenger and tri-series that involved Bangladesh) in front of them to choose the best from the vast talent pool.

The panel put together a team that would go on to clinch a double – first the Under-19 Asia Cup 2021 in the UAE and then the Under-19 World Cup 2022 in the West Indies. Speaking on behalf of the selection committee, its chairman Sharath was pleased to contribute to the recent success of Indian youth cricket.

“We (the selectors) are grateful to the BCCI for nominating us and giving us an opportunity. We (everyone involved) worked as a team and got the desired results,” Sharath told DT Next on Sunday. “A lot of credit will have to be given to my colleagues (Pathik Patel, Ranadeb Bose, Kishan Mohan and Harvinder Singh Sodhi) who worked hard to pick the right players. Overall, it was a tremendous effort by everyone,” Sharath said.

Sharath hailed the players and the support staff for coming up with a dominant show at the global event. “Hats off to the boys and management for putting in extraordinary effort. Only because of that were we able to win both the World Cup and the Asia Cup. It (winning the WC) is a phenomenal achievement. It is not a joke to win a major trophy with just two months of preparation,” added Sharath.

“I am proud of the way India played. The boys may have lost their loved ones to COVID-19 in the last two years. They could not get out of their homes during that period. A lot of restrictions were in place. I feel that the situation made them mentally stronger. The boys worked step by step [upon their return] and concentrated on the process. They kept their feet on the ground. The best is yet to come.”