Sachin Tendulkar has often spoken about the pride of playing for India at the highest level. He donned the India jersey with honour and scripted a dignified career for over two decades. Recently, he spoke about his feelings while singing the National Anthem before a couple of big games and how it motivated him even more to do well in the middle. “Each time the National Anthem is sung, you stand and you sing along. It never fails to give you goose bumps. But, it goes to a different level altogether when you are playing Pakistan in the 2003 World Cup, standing in the middle of the ground, with thousands of people singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’,” Tendulkar said. In that game at Centurion, he had famously smashed 98 against Pakistan, which helped India win their World Cup 2003 encounter against their neighbours. It remains one of the most memorable knocks the former India captain has scripted at the highest level. Tendulkar then went back in time to 2011, when India faced Sri Lanka in the World Cup final at his home ground at Mumbai. “The other (experience) one was when we played the 2011 World Cup finals. I can never forget that experience — the entire stadium singing ‘Jana Gana Mana’ and it still reverberates in my ears. It’s the proudest feeling I have ever had in my life,” Tendulkar said. Tendulkar was speaking at an event conducted by The Sports Heroes, an initiative by former India Test cricketer Nilesh Kulkarni, who represented the country in the 1990s. The Sports Heroes launched the rendition of the National Anthem with some of India’s most prominent sports people featuring in it. Tendulkar was one of them and so was Sunil Gavaskar, the former India opening batsman and one of the greatest players the country has produced. Performances in U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy earns Kavish Panchal place in Gujrat’s senior squad There were some big performances from the West Zone in the Cooch Behar Trophy 2015-16. It must be noted that four out of the five West Zone teams made it to the quarter-finals of the tournament and then three made it to the semis. Through the season, youngsters delivered and were noticed for their performances. To start with, Armaan Jaffer became the toast of the city when he smashed three consecutive double-centuries in the tournament. That won him a call-up for the India Under-19 side and is now in Bangladesh, representing the country in the U-19 ICC Cricket World Cup. Harvik Desai, the wicketkeeper-batsman from Saurashtra, also made an impression with his huge scores. He was selected in the Saurashtra side to play against Oman in five practice matches during the last week of December.

Now, Kavish Panchal is another name to be added to that list. He was picked by Gujarat for the Deodhar Trophy in Kanpur. He has scored 606 runs in eight matches in the Cooch Behar Trophy with three centuries and is now geared up to face India A and India B in the premier one-day tournament. In a conversation with BCCI.tv a few weeks ago, Panchal had revealed how he had transformed from a bowler to batsman. This year, he has shown patience at the crease and tried to focus on building big scores for his side. In batting, he found a new lease of life after his bowling ran into difficulties which has earned him a place in the senior side and he want to make it count. Parthiv Patel leads Gujarat in the Deodhar Trophy after they had clinched the Vijay Hazare Trophy last month. Silver Lining in Mumbai cricket’s week of heartbreaks Mumbai cricket was the cynosure of all eyes for the last two weeks as the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy was being played in the city. However, their campaign was halted by Baroda in the last match of the league phase. Baroda then lost to Uttar Pradesh in the final.

In the Vijay Merchant Under-16 Trophy 2015-16, Mumbai lost to Punjab in the final on the first innings as the match ended in a draw. But, perhaps the biggest heartbreak came in the Cooch Behar Trophy, where many felt the Mumbai Under-19s had dominated the match for the better part of the game. However, Uttar Pradesh Under-19s chased the 445-run target with three off the top four batsmen scoring centuries. Although they lost the trophy, the Mumbai Under-19s have put up impressive performances in the 2015-16 season. Through the season, they have been very consistent. While Armaan, was selected for the India U19s and was away during the last few games, captain Shams Mulani, also made an impression with his batting and left-arm spin. In the final, he opened the bowling in the first innings and took five wickets. With the bat, he scored 782 runs in nine matches with three centuries at an average 71.09. Mulani would be watched closely by the selectors as he has been in the Mumbai setup through all age-groups. Adeeb Usmani (496 runs in eight matches), Hardik Tamore (580 runs in nine matches) and all-rounder Khizar Dafedar (369 runs in nine matches, 18 wickets) also showcased their skills. Prithvi Shaw, the schoolboy cricketer who has been making waves in junior cricket in recent times also averaged over 60 through the tournament. In addition, there were others like Sairaj Patil and Rudra Dhanday who performed around these youngsters to help Mumbai U-19 through. Though it is a bitter pill to swallow, Mumbai certainly have a lot to look forward to as these youngsters look to make their mark.