Vengsarkar urges young players to target playing Test cricket

Mumbai: Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar on Monday exhorted the youngsters to aim for playing and excelling in Test cricket, saying success in the traditional format brings the real honour to the players.

Vengsarkar said parents nowadays get lured by the fame and financial benefits of success in the T20 leagues but the focus of the young players should only be on red-ball cricket, which would also help them do well in other formats.

"Parents are overawed with the success of IPL, its teams and players," Vengsarkar said here at an event to launch cricket coach Jwala Singh's book, titled Pathway to Cricketing Excellence and Beyond.

Vengsarkar, also a former chief selector credited for bringing Virat Kohli into the national team, said parents might have inclination towards training their children to become batters but bowlers carry equal importance irrespective of the format.

"The bowlers also have a big role to play not just in the IPL but also Test cricket, they can be match-winners. Try to play Test cricket for your country, if you are a good Test cricketer you can play other formats of the game," he said.

"You will be rated only by what you have done for the country in Test cricket. IPL is a good format, it is good entertainment and it also meets the finances, which is also very important but Test match cricket is the ultimate," Vengsarkar added.

Jwala, who is known for taking India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal under his wings at a young age, said role of parents and right coaches is equally important.

"When you play any sports there are three pillars, one is the player, and the second is the parents and third is the coach. It has to be a combined effort of all three and that is what this book is about," Jwala said while giving insights into his book which he has co-authored with Sreekar Mothukuri.

"The parents, today, they watch the IPL and so much of media (attention) and the (overall) outcome, they think their child would become a cricketer and he will earn a lot of money and fame. But that is not the way to play a sport," added Jwala, who has also coached India batter Prithvi Shaw.

The coach said if a child is passionate enough, he should be given a certain number of years to harness it.

"If any of the parents are thinking that, it is absolutely wrong. If a child has passion (for the sport) and it continues for (a number of) years, that is how it will work out," he added.