Despite heavy spending by BCCI, few state units nurture junior cricket

When Nasser Hussain and Kevin Pietersen gushed about Indian juniors, they indirectly indicted England for failing to attract young talent.

They also missed the point that India’s success is not entirely by design, but is partly accidental. To an extent, the impressive rise of India’s young cricketers is the result of planning and preparation.

India under-19 are world champions, twice as strong as any other team. The IPL confirmed some junior stars are ‘ready’, notably Prithvi Shaw, who has scored five hundreds from 10 games, including centuries on debut in Ranji and Duleep.