Manan Vohra,along with other Punjab cricketers Sandeep Sharma (Patiala) and Kamal Passi (Amritsar),has been shortlisted in the India U-19 side to tour Australia. Chandigarh-based Himachal Pradesh player Prashant Chopra too will be on the plane Down Under. Speaking to Newsline from Bangalore,the elated 18-year-old said,It will be a challenge to bat against formidable teams like Australia,South Africa and England on the pacy and bouncy tracks in Australia. The fact that the 2012 U-19 World Cup is going to take place in Australia will help us know the conditions there. My aim would be to stay at the wicket for as much time I can and score runs for the team. I have been practicing with wet tennis and plastic balls in the recent days in order to adapt to bouncy attack. If I do well in Australia,that will help me secure a berth in the WC squad. Manan was coached by Yuvraj Singhs father Yograj Singh in his formative years and has been doing well for Chandigarh and Punjab in the recent years. He made his debut for Punjab in the Ranji Trophy in November 2011 against Saurashtra. Opener Chopra,whose father Shiv is a coach at the Sector 16 cricket stadium,is also a part-time leg spinner and represented Himachal Pradesh in the under-15,-16 and -19 age categories. Chopra was part of HPs List A team over the past two domestic seasons. He scored over 1,200 runs in the U-19 and U-22 for HP,which also included seven centuries. He impressed the national junior team selectors with his form in 2011. I am thrilled to be part of the Indian junior team. I worked hard on my cricket in the last two years. The time I spent at Sector 16 stadium helped me grow as a cricketer. I hope to live up to the expectation of everyone, said 19-year-old Chopra. Chopra began playing cricket back in his hometown Solan as his father was an NIS qualified coach. After his father got transferred in 2008 to Chandigarh,Chopra started to train in Chandigarh. The tournament starts in the first week of April in Australia. Incidentally,out of 16 members of the Indian team,six are from North Zone.
