Flamboyant, yet rock-solid

In a pool of budding boys playing at a world-class competition, it is quite a painless task to discover the finest few. Uttar Pradesh all-rounder Tanmay Srivastava who has emerged as one of the leading run-scorers at the ICC Under/19 World Cup in Malaysia is a jewel.

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This southpaw took up the sport at a tender age and represented UP in several junior-level state tournaments before going on to play in the prestigious Ranji Trophy. He cracked his maiden first class century during the Ranji Trophy Super League Final against Delhi just a month before he left for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia.

He was the standout performer during the India U/19s tour of South Africa in early 2008. Tanmay claims to have ‘learnt a lot’ during that taxing tour, especially since it was a virgin experience for him to play on the bouncy pitches there.

Very much in the mould of senior pros Yuvraj Singh and UP teammate Suresh Raina, Tanmay is a flamboyant left-handed batsman who adores driving towards the off-side. Also examining his game during the U/19 World Cup, he appears to love the short pitched stuff, having exhibited the willingness to pull the ball without any reluctance.

Although regardless of his flashy strike-rates and volatile knocks in Malaysia, Tanmay has expressed time and again that a solid back-foot defense is the desired groundwork of his game and it is quite palpable since his idol is the master of them all – Rahul Dravid.

During the U/19s tour of South Africa, he sealed the game for the Indians with a magnificent century (105 not out) during the triangular tournament in January 2008. In the next match against the same team he scored a half century and picked up three wickets to help his side win by six wickets.

He has also put on display leadership skills during the Tests against Sri Lanka when he impressed with scores of 117 and 87 in August 2007. The Kanpur-born has not lead the team since but has been tipped to emerge a contender for a role at the helm in the future.

Tanmay’s greatest knock to-date on Indian soil was when he blasted 105 – a knock that included 14 fours and a six against Delhi early this year. He also scored 81 runs against Hyderabad in the same tournament.

He is a big admirer of Rahul Dravid for his batting skills and his ability to lead from the front. If not a cricketer, he would like to be a social worker. He enjoys listening to music and surfing the Internet when not playing.

His first instance of playing with the ‘big boys’ occurred during the NKP Salve Challenger Trophy of 2006/2007 when he opened the batting alongside Sachin Tendulkar for the India Blues. He scored a duck in that game but the experience of playing at the side of the great man would have done his career a world of good.

Indian cricket’s generation next appears to be in secured hands with the likes of Srivastava, Taruwar Kohli, Pradeep Sangwan and Virat Kohli emerging as champions in their own rights. Stay tuned to Cricket Nirvana’s Young Guns series.

This is your opportunity to get firmly acquainted with the future stars of Indian cricket. Know them before they arrive on the international stage! Listen to their interviews!