Suresh Raina’s advice to India’s Under-19 World Cup team: Don’t let success go to your head or failure affect you too much

By Suresh Raina

To be selected for the Under-19 World Cup that was held in 2004 was a big deal for me. I was aware of the impact in Uttar Pradesh cricket when Mohammad Kaif captained India to the title six years earlier. Those were slightly different times. Today young cricketers have more opportunities to catch the eye of selectors; for example there is the Indian Premier League. But trust me, the path from junior to senior cricket won’t be easy.

I have an interesting anecdote from my days.

Ambati Rayudu and I went to the old office of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) at the Brabourne Stadium to collect our kit. We packed it in the suitcase we got and was so excited that when we reached our hotel both of us forgot the combination lock password.

I too wanted to be part of a title-winning side, like Kaif but it was not to be. But destiny was kind and I was able to experience the joy of winning a World Cup with the senior team in 2011.

I can almost relive the feeling young cricketers who are part of India’s current team will be experiencing on the eve of their opening game in South Africa.

The Uday Saharan-led squad is ready for the #U19WorldCup 😎

Get ready to support the #BoysInBlue as they take on Bangladesh tomorrow in their opening game of the tournament 👌👌#TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/JJuaHs14In

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 19, 2024

The Under-19 World Cup is a great platform for a youngster to perform. It is telecast ‘live’ and you are wearing the India jersey. A good performance will get noticed. Playing in the junior World Cup gave me a different level of confidence and I carried that for many years. A standout knock by me was the 90 off 38 balls against Scotland and everyone took notice. Soon I was playing for the Uttar Pradesh team and sharing the dressing room with stalwarts.

But let me not get the hopes of the current batch too high. For every player who successfully progresses from the Under-19 level to the senior level, there are many others who don’t make it. Simply because the competition is intense in India and the higher one goes the tougher it gets. This holds good in any field, and not just cricket.

But one thing which will hold them in good stead, whether they have a good Under-19 World Cup or not is hard work, focus and a positive attitude.

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.

I was lucky that a few former players backed me, be it Pravin Amre in junior cricket, Gopal Sharma, who was Uttar Pradesh’s selector then and later Dilip Vengsarkar sir, who was heading the TRDO (Talent Resource Development Officers) department then.

Those part of the junior World Cup must always believe they are good because they are part of a select group of players.

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But at the same time, being part of an Under-19 World Cup team is not the only way to get noticed.

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 played 226 ODIs, 78 T20s and 18 Test matches for India. He spoke to Devendra Pandey

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