How young is too young?

First, the talent bit. Dig a little deeper into their fledgling careers and one can see they haven’t been plucked out of thin air. Indeed, one can even see some amount of planning and grooming, things one would not expect of domestic cricket in India:

• Two years ago, the Board organised an “under-15 conclave” at Bangalore under the guidance of Prasanna, Chandra and Bedi. Among the finds were Chawla and Nadeem, whom Prasanna recently described as being ‘‘spinners with zip’’.

• Late last year, this reporter called Dilip Vengsarkar, effectively the chief talent scout, and asked him to pick one name for 2005. His answer was immediate: Piyush Chawla.

• Shukla made his name with 85 off 93 balls against England Colts earlier this year (Manoj Tewari was another star in that series), then captained India Under-19 against their Australian counterparts, a series India won 4-1.

So they seem to have the talent to be at Mohali.

But would playing them in the Challengers be exposing them too early to the rigours of the game? Should they wait a season or two?

Vengsarkar is clear on this: They should wait. ‘‘They are doubtless talented but are at a very tender age. It is alright if somebody like VRV Singh gets to play in Challenger. He’s proved himself at a certain level. But players like Chawla, Shukla and Nadeem are still very young,’’ he says.

The NCA in Bangalore, he says, has helped these cricketers groom themselves, keeping in mind that most associations in the country do not boast of the best infrastructure. ‘‘Now that they are beginning to grow as cricketers, more time should be given to assessment than putting them through the grind of competitions like the Challenger.

The selectors beg to differ. Kiran More, chairman of the senior selection committee, says the selectors thought the issue through before drafting in the youngsters. ‘‘They’ve been included in the tournament with a long-term plan in mind.’’

There is also the theory that young players should not get into one-day cricket so early. Yet selectors feel that these old theories need to be abandoned if cricket is to progress. ‘‘Whether it’s 50 overs or Twenty20, if players look like they can sustain the grind at the highest level, why not give them the opportunity. It will only add to the future build-up,’’ says More.

Praveen Amre, chairman of the junior selection committee, is known for doing his homework. He says: ‘‘Including these youngsters is done with an eye to the future. These children are bound to play the U-19 World Cup, so playing with and against the seniors will help them to a great level.’’

THE NOT-YET-FAMOUS FIVE

SUNNY SINGH (18+/Bhiwani/India ‘B’)

Right-arm medium pacer who bowled at the other end when Irfan broke records on U-19 tour of Pakistan in 2003. Key member of Haryana U-19 and Ranji squads and part of India U-19 World Cup squad last year

Shanbaz Nadeem (16+/Patna/India ‘A’)

Slow left-arm bowler, among the few who were tested by Bedi, Prasanna and Chandra and impressed them with quality of flight and turn

Piyush Chawla (16+/Aligarh/India ‘B’)

Touted as leg-spinner for the future. Spun Indian Colts to victory against England U-19 with 8-wkt haul early this year

Ravikant Shukla (18+/Rae Bareli/India ‘B’)

Has shown class as left-hand batsman to reach the top. Also shown his sense of responsibility as captain of India U-19 against visiting Aussies

Manoj Tewari (19+/Howrah/India ‘A’)

A future all-rounder. Right-hand bat and medium pacer who single-handed helped India U-19 topple the English Colts by293 runs