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Keeping the members of the Under-19 World Cup side grounded after their recent success, Rahul Dravid explained how it was just the beginning for the tyros who put in a stellar show over the last one month in New Zealand to clinch the title. India became the first team to win four Under-19 World Cup titles and looked head and shoulders above the rest, but Dravid pointed out the challenges that lay ahead for the young boys as well as the team management behind the scenes.
"The challenges and the hard work start from here. The hard work begins for them and for us as well, as to how we manage these boys over the next few years," Dravid said in an arrival press conference in Mumbai on Monday (February 5).
Despite all the hype surrounding the Indian players and the expectation levels for the viewing audience, Dravid has always preached the need to understand that not all of the 15 members of the squad are going to make it to the senior side one day and that it was a long road ahead. He once again reiterated that. Dravid spoke about the need to have successful first-class careers, which can later help them take one final step ahead.
"Even if not a lot of them go on to play for India, it can happen... it's not easy to get into the Indian side. It depends on the number of players who are performing - that makes it difficult to break in at times. If they go on to have successful first-class careers, then from there on it becomes a stepping stone for international cricket."
Dravid's cautious approach is not without reason. The level of competition for spots in India is drastic and the path to the senior side has seldom been straightforward. The former India captain made a noteworthy observation about the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, wherein India beat Australia. In the six years since, only one member - Sandeep Sharma - of the line-up that played in the final has managed to make his senior side debut - playing two T20Is. Contrastingly, for Australia, there were quite a few names that broke through.
"It was quite interesting for me... during the World Cup they showed re-runs of some of the earlier finals, including that of the 2012 final," Dravid said. "In fact, I was watching that re-run, and I went back and started checking a few things.
"It was interesting because the 2012 final featured India and Australia; the result of the final will tell you that India beat Australia. Six years down the line, while only one of those boys played a couple of one-day [T20I] games for India, four-five Australians have gone on to play for Australia. So, more of their guys have gone on to play first-class cricket. The debatable point is actually who won that final, if you look back six years later. So I think those are interesting chats and conversations to be had."
While sticking to his pragmatic outlook towards what lay ahead for the excitable bunch of cricketers, Dravid also reckoned that getting to watch the fans crowd around them at the airport in Mumbai and having to answer questions from the media is also an experience that will help them grow.
"The fact that they came to the [Mumbai] airport and saw the excitement, the noise and the people around them, I think that's another experience [to remember]. Coming up and fronting up to you guys [the media] is another experience for them. So I'm glad they've had these opportunities to have these extra experiences because they won. So from my point of view that's the plus point.
Dravid also opined that the tag of being a recognisable cricketer will come with its share of pressure, as every performance - good or bad - is likely to be micro-analysed.
"Being known players, it's not going to be that easy for them, at least for a short period of time [while] playing domestic cricket... you know somebody talking about this performance, highlighting this performance, the expectation that comes with this. I think it's a good learning [experience] and a challenge."
(CRICBUZZ)
