How Can I Play Cricket At A Professional Level

I am 15, can I start cricket now and still play professionally?

OFCOURSE YOU CANYou know adam voges, Chris rogers, Misbah ul Haq and many many other legends have started playing late. Infact Dwaye Bravo only came cricket as he found his school sports teacher hot…! Upcoming legend Jasprit Bumrah who has stunned the world, got into cricket at the age of 17. The plus point is, you live in Australia.If your parents question your ability, but you do not, then request them to take you to a nearby coaching and let the coach be the judge to judge your ability and let the decision of the coach be final…if he says that you can’t pursue a healthy career in this field, then don’t lose hope, go to another coach. But if he says that you have something special in you (or) if you work extremely hard, you will earn a good spot in cricket, then yes, start working ‘EXTREMELY’ hard from day one…!If you are a bowler then please eat a lot of boiled chicken and fish. Avoid eating red meat. Increase your arm strength by various means possible. Work on your thighs to avoid cramps. If you do not practise daily, then sorry, it’s not that easy. Start going to gym after the age of 17 as it will affect your height if you start it at an early age of 15 itself.If you are a batsman, work on your reflexes. When you are batting, forget the world and just look at the ball which is approaching you. Never practise with slower deliveries. Practise with a heavy bat…! Remember, if your defence is strong, your hitting ability will be better.The only problem with starting a bit late is that it will be difficult for you to concentrate on your studies and cricket both at the same time.Let anyone criticize your abilities, because critics are good for us and our career. But never ever criticize your own abilities by yourself…Hope I see the name ‘ ANUBHAV GUHA ‘ in the australian IX one day…!

I have always wanted to play cricket at professional level. I have just completed B.Tech (mechanical). Now will it be wise to join a cricket academy, not joining any job?

You will never know for sure until you go through with it. There always will be that ‘what if’ feeling to nag you.I know someone who joined an academy when he was barely 12. He would devote more than 8 hours a day to his sport. He already was the best in school but he had bigger goals. He wanted to be the best player in the academy that had players way older and more experienced than him. He sacrificed his studies and stayed in school for an extra two years so he could play for the school team. That team won many tournaments.Now he has already played for second tier county teams and recently became the vice captain of the national under 19 team. The point is, he is only 20 and has a substantial portfolio.If you believe you can compete against such players in the academy and even make it to the international team then you should go for it.

I am 20 and I play cricket but not professionally. Is it too late to play cricket at professional level?

It is actually not too late. But you need to train hard because when start your professional carrier in sports late your body does not respond too well. Even if you do there are more chances of an injury to a player. So even if you are there ability wise you need to start more time in gym and start jogging and sprinting more if you are not doing so.

How do I play cricket at district level?

Having played cricket for more than half a decade, i think i am eligible to answer this question. I used to play professional cricket in Indore which is a district called as a division in cricketing parlance. Moving on to the steps, here are they:STEP 1: You get yourself enrolled in a local club where you start learning the tricks of the trade. If the authorities like you as a player, they draft you into their team which plays at various levels, senior being the highest and under-10/12 being the lowest. These tournaments in which you play are association sponsored and a good performance can elevate you to the next level.STEP 2: A division consists of various districts. Firstly, selection trials are held at district levels but in most cases, teams are selected on the basis of performance in the local tournament. Then Inter-district tournament takes place which is a mere formality because of the less-developed cricketing infrastructure.STEP 3: After Inter-district tournament, selectors once again review the performance and if anyone from other districts have performed exceptionally well, they pick him up and draft into the divisional side which takes part in Inter-divisional tournaments. These Inter-divisional tournaments are held at various levels and to enter into a Ranji Side, Senior Divisional Tournaments pave the way.But those who perform exceptionally well at junior level also gets the chance to get selected in Ranji Trophy teams.STEP 4: After Inter-divisional tournaments, the player who perform are picked up by selectors and are called up for a camp. In most states, they are selected through trials also but performance is the major criteria in selection. These selected players train under watchful eyes of state association coaches (mostly International players) and tour to various side tournaments which act as a preparatory tournaments before Ranji Trophy.STEP 5: If you perform well-enough in these tournaments, your selection chances becomes high and in the end, selectors announce the Ranji Trophy team.This is the process to get selected

Is it too late to start professional cricket at the age of 18?

Thanks for A2A :)It's never late to follow your passion !!You are 18 now. So you still have 1 year of under 19 cricket left.Quickly find out a local club or academy where you can learn the basics of cricket (Remember professional cricket is much more tough and entirely different).Just a bit of advice.If you are taller than 5.8, it will be good for you to focus more on bowling. Build a good body,take care of your fitness and try to bowl fast.In these days, everone is trying to become a batsman.Everone is trying to become another Kohli !But,if you can bowl at 135+ kph, you can easily impress selectors in Ranji trials. BCCI has launched special missions to find out fast bowlers and it keeps tracking the news of bowler's talent hunts. Make sure you never miss it since they directly pick players from there to NCA and then recommend them to a state team.Yes, I must say that it's going to be a tough journey for you as there are lots of talented teenagers who share the same dream. You have to compete with them.But as our parents say , hard work is the key at the end.Best of luck !!Thank you !P.s. additional motivation :http://Umesha Yadav gave up on his studies after class 12 and joined Vidarva Gymkhana Club as a fast bowler. Now see, where he is.Here is the full story - www.espncricinfo.com/../567657.html

I want to play cricket professionally in New Zealand. How can I do this as an Indian?

It was no big deal back when Kepler Wessels played for diff. nations but since the rules have changed, and due to the fact that one needs to possess legal citizenship of the country before being allowed to represent the national team, things are not as simple these days.Recently, there has been a number of amendments made for players to represent different countries at international level.There are some criteria’s which a player must satisfy in order to play for a different member country, where he wasn’t born.1. A super-cricketer is qualified to play Representative Super-Cricket (Like Ranji Trophy in India, Plunket Shield in NZ) for a Member Country of which he is a national or, in cases of non-nationals, in which he was born provided that he has not played Representative Super-Cricket for any other Member Country during the 4 immediately preceding years.2. A player who has resided for a minimum of six months in a Member Country in each of the 4 immediately preceding years shall be a ‘deemed national’ of that country for the purpose of these rules.3. A player wishing to represent an Associate or Affiliate Member Country shall be required to satisfy one or more of the following additional Development Criteria:(i) the player shall have played 50% or more of the scheduled games for his team in a national super-cricket competition in the relevant Associate or Affiliate Member Country in any 3 of the preceding 5 years; orii) the player shall have spent a cumulative total of three months or more during the preceding 5 years in the relevant Associate or Affiliate Member Country coaching, playing or working in the administration or development of super-cricket in that country; or(iii) the player shall have played Representative Super-Cricket for the relevant Associate or Affiliate Member Country; or(iv) the player shall have dedicated a reasonable period of time to activities which, in the opinion of the Chairman of the ISCC, constitute a sufficient demonstration of a player’s genuine commitment to the development of super-cricket in the relevant Associate of Affiliate Member Country.