Tanmay to lead India under 19 team in England tour

Kanpur, June 14 (UNI) Shortly after being named captain of India 'A' cricket team (Under 19), Tanmay Srivastava exuded confidence of making rich expoits in the forthcoming England tour.

In an exclusive intrview with UNI here, Tanmay showed a steely grit promising to inspire his team work as a cohesive unit.

''I will try to perform well myself alongwith the team...we will play as a unit to win matches,'' he underlined.

Idolising West Indies' star batsman Brian Lara, the under 19 captain attributed his success to trainer Vikas Yadav and Ramesh Pal. ''I like Lara because he is a perfect team man.'' The southpaw is also fascinated by Team India skipper Rahul Dravid, who he feels is the ''Great Wall of India and technology sound in the game.'' The teenager is confident of making a place among the seniors and performing well at the international level when the time comes.

Tanmay also waxed eloquent on his parents for supporting him at every stage. Interestingly, his father Manoj Srivastava represents Punjab National Bank in domestic cricket circuit.

Tanmay has played matches also featuring Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Gautam Gambhir, Munaf Patel, Dinesh Kartik and Mohd Kaif.

Playing in Col Hemu Cricket Tournament at Bangalore from Central Zone, Tanmay had slammed 169 and 40 runs against North Zone and South Zone respectively.

''My ultimate aim is to reach the pinnacle of performance in cricket,'' he quipped.

Tanmay also pointed out that in recent times, players from Uttar Pradesh have proved their mettle at the highest level in the game.

In 2003, Tanmay had scored a century as member of the Indian junior team at Asia Cup in Dhaka.

Meanwhile, his mother Rozi Srivastava said the family felt relieved after Tanmay was named the captain.

''We were quite worried about his future...now since he has been made the skipper, we know that he has a great opportunity to showcase his talent,'' she averred praying for the success of her ward.

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