U-14 cricket: Delhi send 27, come back runners-up

Every kid wants to play. The Delhi cricket officials seem to have taken that adage quite seriously. They sent as many as 27 kids, 11 above the required limit for a 16-member squad for the U-14 inter-state tournament for the Dhruv Pandove Trophy that concluded in Himachal Pradesh recently.

Incidentally, it was the first time in about the decade-old history of the North Zone tournament that Delhi lost. Earlier, Delhi would romp to titles quite easily.

“I am happy with the performance,” said U-14 chief selector Robin Singh Jr, a former India international. “We thrashed the other teams in one-sided matches. We almost made Punjab follow on in the round robin stage.”

However, Punjab got the better of Delhi in the final. Delhi U-14 had made 250 and Punjab were some 230-odd for nine. “However, a few edges saw Punjab through. It was plain luck that we lost on the basis of first-innings after having them nine down at one stage,” adds Singh.

Singh marks out openers Rishabh Drall (right hand bat and right arm offie) and Vikas Solanki (left-hand bat and left-arm spinner) for special mention. The two made quite a few fifties and picked wickets with their spin.

Nevertheless, the fact that Delhi sent as many as 27 players hasn’t gone down well with everyone. An official, close to the happenings, says, “They first sent some weak players and then had to send replacements. Even in the final they had played a couple of weak players. It was funny that they kept changing for every game.”

Singh rebuts criticism, “At this age, you tend to try a lot of players to get the right combination and mark out talent for the future. Besides, there were a couple of injuries. So that is why we got so many players.”

Thankfully though, only 21 could play and not all 27.