Still some way to go for the U-19s

In Mint, Venkat Ananth writes about the need for India's World Cup-winning U-19 players to establish themselves in domestic cricket before eying a spot in the national senior team.

Their graduation in junior cricket is now complete. The party, given Indian cricket and its hype machinery, may not yet be over, but what lies ahead for some of these youngsters is a stage in their respective careers where the grind of domestic cricket could get lonely, tiring, yet inherently exciting, given the bigger rewards that lie ahead, Indian Premier League (IPL) contracts notwithstanding. The gap between age-group cricket and domestic cricket is wide, and with the challenge of multiple formats (mainly four-day cricket), the cricketers will be required to bowl against better quality batsmen (or Ranji Trophy veterans) and excel in different conditions.