Youth Cricket Quotes

I hope that there can be a solution where T20 is still a huge part of the game, especially if young guys today understand what a Test match is all about. To me, you have to learn the game from the grass-roots and then reach the next stage where you can be explosive.

It is all about experience. When you are 7-8 years old, you start playing school cricket and score runs; my coaches, from school level to Rahul Dravid Sir now, all those small, small things - the experiences make a difference.

England Women regularly play against Under-15 and U-17 county men's sides, which is great for the girls to take them out of their comfort zones. It's important to find a balance, though, because the way in which women's cricket is played is still very different.

If you are going to raise youngsters for Test cricket that don't have the experience, you can't stick them into T20. You've got to teach them first how to play Test cricket, and when they're good enough for Test cricket and if they want to play both formats, then they can.

I was not picked immediately at any level, be it Under-14, Under-16 or Under-19. So apart from my batting, I bowled legspin. In one of the selection tournaments for Mumbai Under-19, I happened to pick 34 wickets. So I was finally picked, but as a bowling allrounder.

The biggest difference at the Ranji Trophy level is that of the pace you face. You don't get as many quick bowlers at the Under-19 level.

I was always really worried about the conditions in India, especially with a group of young players. You can sit and you can tell players what it's like to play there, but until you've experienced it, you don't comprehend it.

Whatever opportunities I got after the Under-19 World Cup, I tried to make most of it and do my best for the team.

Youngsters getting hooked to IPL is a dangerous sign for Indian cricket.

For Leicestershire, through the age groups, I didn't bowl at all. My height was below average for my age up until 17 when I had a big growth spurt. My bowling kicked on from there because I could get bounce from a fuller length and shape the ball away.

I played cricket for the Delhi under-15 and 19 team. I was inspired by Imran Khan.

We are looking to get counties to play their young England players earlier, and the first reports from the counties are that it is working well. It also helps us to prepare in a better fashion.

Growing up, in my under-15 days I used to be a wicketkeeper, and that carried on till I was 17. Then I started focusing on my batting and moved on. I got into the Ranji team quite early, and generally, as a youngster, the first place you are put in is at bat-pad and short leg, so you had to work on your close-in fielding straightaway.

It is going to be difficult for the West Indies to get back to the top, but we got to start somewhere, and if playing young players is the way we have decided to go, these young players must be given the chance to mature and develop and not be discarded at an early age.

Equally, though, there are guys who play England Under 19 who don't even play First Class cricket. It is a watershed in the careers in many ways.

When I was playing for my school, the only thing I wanted to do was get selected for the Under-16 or the Under-19 district teams. When I was selected for the district, I would think about the next level, which was getting selected for the state side.

When I came to Under-19, I played a lot of cricket and got a lot of experience. Then India A as well, and Ranji Trophy - it just keeps going on.

I was a middle-order batsman who was too good against spin and hit sixes consistently in Under-19 and Ranji cricket, and I still have the same confidence.

White ball cricket can be taxing on bowlers and can be a distraction for a youngster, too.

Ranji Trophy is a great experience for youngsters.

I played a lot of my early cricket in Haridwar and Dehradun. But I just had to come to Delhi if I had to make a career out of it.

My father, who has played a bit of cricket, comes to Chepauk to watch every game I play.

Then started playing men's cricket when I was 15. That's when I stopped enjoying it. It was long days, 50-over games with men 15 years older who you don't really have anything in common with, all talking about going to the pub.

From a small age, we used to play a lot of school cricket: 30-35 games in a year in school cricket, then Under-16 games.

Just in a matter of eight months to win the U-19 World Cup as captain and then make the Test team is quite unreal.