It was Steve Waugh who once said the future of Australian cricket lies with the kids, and their desire to don the iconic green and gold. That’s not to say that every kid in Australia with a dream to play for their country will have the honour to do so; but it’s the boys and girls who put in the work on and off the pitch that will separate the ones who dream of it from the few individuals that make it a reality. Working hard to make that dream into a reality is young Vishwa Ramkumar, who was recently selected for the Australian Under-19 cricket team.
Post their World Cup triumph, the team will head over to India in hopes of repeating the feat that won them the coveted trophy against the boys in blue – but this time, in the form of three 50-over and two four-day matches.
The selected squad, consisting of the country’s 16 most talented players in the U-19 age bracket, included Ramkumar, the well-known leg-spinner from the Dandenong Cricket Club. Speaking exclusively to Indian Link, Ramkumar expressed his excitement to take on India, the country of which he carries heavy cultural ties to.
“I’m definitely very excited to go to India and having gone there before and having relatives over there, it’s a challenge I’m very much looking forward to,” Ramkumar told Indian Link.
Being one of the youngest members in the squad, Ramkumar showed signs of talent combined with an eagerness to learn from an early age. Fresh off graduating from Melbourne High School last year, Ramkumar noted the importance of time management and structure, helping him balance a potential future in cricket, as well as maintaining high standards in his education.
“I spent a lot of my time in the nets and made a lot of sacrifices to take my game to the next level. But that factor of time management was important for me to balance cricket with my studies,” he said.
As for the upcoming contest in India, Ramkumar is intent, saying navigating through the Indian pitches will be a tough, yet achievable task. With previous experience on Indian pitches, even training in India alongside the IPL team Chennai Super Kings, Ramkumar believes his familiarity with the Indian conditions will help guide him and his team.
“I feel like it should be a good challenge, especially playing against India in their home conditions where the batsmen would be accustomed to playing spin.”
While the Australian team boasts a wide range of gifted young stars, some of whom featured in the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year, the plethora of Indian talent who could be selected for their squad will be sure to cause Australia problems.
At the time of writing, the Indian squad is yet to be decided, but it is almost certain that key players including Raj Limbani and Adarsh Singh will hope to take Hrishikesh Kanitkar’s side to glory. Musheer Khan, the brother of Indian international cricketer Sarfaraz Khan, will also likely feature in the team taking on Australia.
Looking up to the legendary Shane Warne, Ramkumar deems his leg-spin ability closely relates to that of Adam Zampa, who has caused all kinds of problems for Indian batsmen on their home pitches.
“Being a young Aussie, Warnie was the one I always looked up to; he was a great watch. But more recently, I’ve been looking up to guys such as Rashid Khan and Adam Zampa, both of whom I admire and have modelled my game off.”
But what does the future hold for Vishwa Ramkumar?
“My hopes are to play at the highest level for Australia in as many forms in the game as possible, and ultimately have a long-lasting career playing for my country.”
Of course, playing for Australia at an Under-19 level is no guarantee for anyone that they will eventually go on to represent the ‘baggy greens’ at the highest level, but with his talent and work ethic, Vishwa Ramkumar’s future may well be embellished in green and gold.
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