Sandhu advises Mumbai colts to aim for Test place

MUMBAI: Former India swing bowler Balwinder Singh Sandhu on Wednesday advised youngsters of Mumbai to focus on winning a Test cap and be in the national team for five years instead of aiming for a berth in an Indian Premier League franchise outfit.
"You are getting plenty of opportunities. Your aim should not to be IPL, but playing Test cricket for India for at least five years," said chief guest Sandhu at the prize distribution function of the 24th Sportstar Trophy MCA Under-19 selection trial tournament on Wednesday.
Joint secretary of the Mumbai Cricket Association, Lalchand Rajput, praised the tournament for helping in the improvement of junior level cricket in the metropolis.
"The Sportstar Trophy has immensely helped in the development of junior cricket in Mumbai," the former India and Mumbai opener said.
Vijay Manjrekar XI won the tournament by finishing the four-team round robin league with nine points followed by Dattu Phadkar XI (7), Khandu Rangnekar XI (5) and Vijay Merchant XI (1) in that order.
Suryakumar Yadav of Manjrekar XI team was declared the player of the tournament for emerging with 267 runs to his credit.
He won the Ramakant Desai crystal trophy and a Nike kitbag and cricket kit from the organisers.
Other prize winners:
Best batsman: Suryakumar Yadav : Vijay Manjrekar XI; Best bowler: Ankush Jaiswal: Vijay Manjrekar XI; Best Fielder: Gaurav Jathar - Khandu Rangnekar XI; Best all rounder: Anuj Ambhire - Khandu Rangnekar XI
Man of the match award winners: Pratik Prabhu - Khandu Rangnekar XI; Ankush Jaiswal - Vijay Manjrekar XI; Suryakumar Yadav - Vijay Manjrekar XI; Virendra Mourya - Dattu
Additional prizes on the basis of performances in the four Elite Group matches of the Cooch Behar Trophy were awarded to Sagar Gorivalle, Javed Khan and Kaustubh Pawar.