Three youngsters and a whiff of fresh air for India

Indian selectors very rarely go into a limited overs game with three debutants. Fortunately, the first match of the International Cricket Council KnockOut Trophy against Kenya gave them the ideal opportunity to blood these youngsters. Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh and Vijay Dahiya are three very different types of cricketers. Yet, they now have one thing in common - they have played for India, and did not disappoint in the first chance they got.

The Baroda left arm speedster Zaheer Khan was probably the most impressive of the three. Ignored by his home side Mumbai, Zaheer Khan made the move to Baroda and it has paid off. After an impressive domestic season, Zaheer Khan found himself as one of the trainees in the newly set up National Cricket Academy. More specifically, he was one of the pacemen from the NCA to spend a bit of time at the MRF Pace Foundation. At the Foundation, Zaheer Khan blossomed under the keen eye of former fast bowler and South Zone selector TA Sekhar. The fact that fast bowling great Dennis Lillee visited the academy during Zaheer Khan's stint there must have played a key role as well.

Picking up three wickets in a late burst that rocked the Kenyans, Zaheer Khan unveiled a weapon that has been missing from the armoury of the average Indian fast bowler in recent times - the yorker. Zaheer Khan came up with two such perfect deliveries at the death and removed left handers Mohammed Sheikh and Hitesh Modi in the space of just three balls. Earlier in the day, Zaheer Khan showed good spirit and aggression with the new ball. Several times he dug the ball in short and put the batsmen in awkward positions.

Vijay Dahiya, the Delhi stumper who got the nod ahead of Tamil Nadu's Reuben Paul was tidy enough behind the stumps. Although he did not readily display the kind of pedigree that Nayan Mongia is known for, he certainly made very few mistakes. The one blemish against his name could be the fact that he fumbled the ball once on the way to pouching an edge off Ravindu Shah's bat. If that was anything more than a touch of nerves, it will be evident in the next few matches.

Yuvraj Singh of whom much has been expected since his dramatic performance in the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka looked sharp fielding at point. Robin Singh has made that position his own, and the fact that Yuvraj Singh was stationed there in his very first game is an indication of his ability. Although he did not get to bat, which is his primary role, Yuvraj Singh chipped in with four overs of left arm spin. Although never genuinely threatening, Yuvraj's left arm spin did not look out of place.

Although the Indian think tank has made a good start by blooding these youngsters, it will all be in vain if they are not given a fair trial. The second match, against Australia, will certainly be a trial by fire.