The hunt for the next Sachin Tendulkar begins

dna lists the boys who have shown signs that their bat wields the same power and they have the hunger to score big like Tendulkar, who made his Test debut when he was only 16 in 1989. It is purely a matter of coincidence that three of the four are from Mumbai.

The metropolis is the factory of batting talent and these boys have proven their potential at the school and state levels and have been consistent in all kinds of formats.

As former India player and Tendulkar’s teammate Praveen Amre puts it, it takes talent, maturity and temperament to be another Tendulkar,

“It is not that easy to find talent like Sachin Tendulkar. It also involves a lot of people. It is not only about the talent, but proper guidance as well. Tendulkar had a coach like (Ramakant) Achrekar sir who guided him, a brother like Ajit who promoted him and a wife like Anjali who has backed him wholeheartedly.”

“Tendulkar was one step ahead of everyone at that time. He would look to deliver at whatever opportunity he got. It is not easy to break his records. Some may break one or two, but one person cannot break all his records. Especially the 200 Tests where you have to play really long. He had the talent, maturity and temperament from the age of 15. If a player possesses all three, you'll  get another Sachin,” he says.

Making it to dna’s shortlist of ‘the next Tendulkar’ are Sarfaraz Khan, Armaan Jaffer, Prithvi Shaw and Vijay Zol.

Armaan Jaffer 15 Mumbai, Right-handed batsman
India player Wasim Jaffer’s nephew Armaan is a special talent. If Sarfaraz has the aggressive edge and the penchant to hit big, Armaan brings elegance and craft to his batting. He is like his uncle Wasim — patient and calm. His batting is soothing to watch and will please those looking for the classical batsmanship style.

The Rizvi Springfield player is trained by his father Kalim, who also coached Wasim. Kalim, also a local coach, has put him through the grind ever since he began playing cricket at the age of seven.

In February, the 15-year-old right-hander cracked no less than 473 runs in the final of the prestigious Harris Shield tournament to break the record of fellow Rizvi Springfield pal Sarfaraz (439). Two years ago, he came closer to the mind-boggling 500-run mark when he amassed 498 in the final of the city’s other prominent school-level tournament — Giles Shield.

He also scored more than 1,000 runs in the U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy and scored a match-winning 290 in the final, helping Mumbai win the title. For his consistent performance, along with Sarfaraz, Armaan, too, was named in the list of Ranji Trophy probables.

He has all the ingredients to be a flag-bearer of Mumbai’s school of batting.

In February, Armaan hit 473 runs in the final of the prestigious Harris Shield tournament to break the record of fellow Rizvi Springfield pal Sarfaraz (439). Two years ago, he came closer to the mind-boggling 500-run mark when he amassed 498 in the final of the city’s other prominent school-level tournament — Giles Shield

Prithvi Shaw 14 Mumbai, Right-handed batsman
Prithvi’s story is that of a typical Mumbai cricketer. Waking up as early as 4.30 am, commuting from Vasai to south Mumbai every day, working hard through the day and then returning home to his father.

It’s a tough life that could have deterred many other youngsters. But Prithvi continued doughtily and his talent was finally noticed. With the help of a local politician, Prithvi and his father now live in Vakola (Santacruz), a move that has helped him cut his travel time by half and concentrate on cricket.

Such is his talent that Tendulkar once stopped to watch the boy bat at the Bandra-Kurla Complex.

In fact, Tendulkar even told Prithvi that he could get in touch with him for any help.

Prithvi has been a run-machine, at all levels, school and club.

He may not be like his teammates Sarfaraz or Armaan in power or elegance, but certainly has his own style. On a good day, the diminutive player can be dangerous for his opposition. He has good technique and is blessed with perfect timing.

Prithvi begins practicing at 7am before leaving for his school, Rizvi Springfield in Bandra. He practises at Kalina in the morning and at the MIG ground in the evening.

Last season, Prithvi was sent to England for an exchange programme. This helped his game enormously. The boy scored close to 1,500 runs there — he averaged 85 with the bat — and took 65 wickets. Although he has four double centuries in junior cricket, his innings of 174 in the 2012 Harris Shield final is regarded as his finest knock.

Such is his talent that Tendulkar once stopped to watch the boy bat at the Bandra-Kurla Complex. Last season, Prithvi was sent to England for an exchange programme where he scored close to 1,500 runs

Sarfaraz Khan 16 Mumbai, Right-handed batsman
Even former Australian great Greg Chappell was in awe of this 16-year-old dashing batsman.

Chappell, who saw him in the Under-19 tri-series in Darwin and Quadrangular U-19 series in Vizag, calls Sarfaraz Khan a talent for the future.

Sarfaraz has been seen as a prospect ever since he slammed a record breaking 439 in the 2009 Harris Shield final, beating the likes of Wasim Jaffer, Vinod Kambli, Ashok Mankad and Tendulkar.

In fact, he held the record of making his Kanga League debut at the age of nine, which was broken this year by his younger brother Musheer, who is eight.

Cricket flows like blood in the veins of the Khan family. His father Naushad, a local coach, has given the likes of Iqbal Abdullah, Kamran Khan, Rahil Shaikh and Sufiyan Sheikh to Mumbai cricket.

Sarfaraz, once a naughty kid, is now polished and knows his target. The highlight of his cricket is his aggressive batting and his courage to go for the big shots. He starts his day at the ground and finishes the day there, which makes him tough. Years of hard work have made him look stronger than the average 16-year-old.

There is not a tournament in Mumbai where he has not scored. He has the ability to win a match by himself. Not only that, he is a thinking bowler who has the knack of giving breakthroughs, much like Tendulkar.

In June, he was named among the Mumbai Ranji probables and may soon make his Ranji debut at the age of 16, again, much like Tendulkar.

Sarfaraz has been seen as a prospect ever since he slammed a record breaking 439 in the 2009 Harris Shield final beating the likes of Ashok Mankad and Tendulkar. He held the record of making Kanga League debut at the age of nine, which was broken this year by his eight-year-old brother Musheer

Vijay Zol 18 Jalna, Maharashtra, Left-handed batsman
Born in the small Maharashtra town of Jalna, Vijay’s is a success story much like Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the Ranchi boy who made it to the highest echelons of the game. Vijay rose to fame by hammering 451 off 467 balls in an U-19 first class match for Maharashtra in 2011 when he was just 16. There has been no stopping him since.

Vijay has made rapid progress. His aggressive and classy left-handed batting separates him from other boys.

Vijay was included in Unmukt Chand’s U-19 side that won the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2012 immediately after his quadruple hundred knock. He was vice-captain of the team. A year later, he was made skipper of the U-19 team and has been in unbelievable form since then.

His success has been amazing wherever he has played as an U-19 player. In the Top End series in Australia, he slammed 293, notching up a 100 and a 50, and helped India win the tri-nation series. In Sri Lanka, he scored 467 runs in five games, including a 173 with two tons. In the quadrangular series in Visakhapatnam, which included Australia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, he raked in 240 runs with one century. He won all the Youth ODI tournaments, underlining his ability as a captain.

The youngster’s success story has just begun. After being inducted into the India A side in a series against New Zealand A, he slammed 110, which was his debut game. He further strengthened his confidence by slamming 200 not out aganst Tripura in his career’s first Ranji Trophy game in October. At the pace at which he is scoring runs, he will soon break into the senior team.

Zol rose to fame by hammering 451 off 467 balls in an U-19 first class match for Maharashtra in 2011. A year later, he was made skipper of the U-19 team. He has won all Youth ODI tournaments, underlining his ability as a captain