Former India cricketer Suresh Raina had a golden piece of advice for Team India ahead of their U19 World Cup 2024 opener against Bangladesh on Sunday. The veteran southpaw, who was a part of the U19 team in the World Cup 2004, fired a warning to the youngsters on the path to senior from junior.
Raina’s warning to India ahead of U19 World Cup 2024 opener
Reflection on the importance of playing the U19 World Cup, Raina revealed to the Indian Express his stint in 2004 gave him confidence for many years. Citing his ‘standout’ 90-run knock against Scotland, the southpaw pointed out how it helped people take notice of him and paved way for his inclusion in the UP team where he shared the dressing room with stalwarts.
Raina warned the U19 stars that it wasn’t a guarantee for all the players to progress from the junior level to the senior. The former India batter pointed at Shikhar Dhawan’s case to back his argument, noting that despite having a good run in the U19 World Cup 2004, he had to wait for a few years to make his debut in the senior side.
“An example of someone with the right mindset is Shikhar Dhawan. He was very talented, had a good junior World Cup in 2004 but it was only after a few years that he could break into the senior team,” Raina noted.
He also claimed that being a part of the U19 World Cup side wasn’t the only way to get noticed and cited the case of Rinku Singh. The southpaw lauded the explosive finisher for amassing runs in the IPL and working hard in the domestic circuit. Further, he shot a warning to India’s U19 stars to not let success get to their heads.
“A perfect example is that of Rinku Singh. He made a mark in the IPL but has been scoring runs in domestic cricket and has been working hard. So this batch should not let success go to their head or allow failure to affect them. This is a big moment, so just go out and enjoy it,” Raina added.
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