Dilip Vengsarkar urges young players to focus on playing Test cricket

Dilip Vengsarkar said that parents nowadays get lured by the fame and pay cheques in the T20 leagues but the focus should be on red ball cricket. It would also help them gain success in other formats

Former India captain and chief selector Dilip Vengsarkar urges players to play and excel in Test cricket. He also said that the traditional format brings real honour to the players.

Dilip Vengsarkar said that parents nowadays get lured by the fame and pay cheques in the T20 leagues but the focus should be on red ball cricket. It would also help them gain success 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.

Dilip Vengsarkar also mentioned that parents might lean on training their children to become batsmen but bowlers hold equal importance irrespective of the format.

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"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 Singh, who is known for taking India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal under his wings at a young age, said the 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.

(With PTI Inputs)

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