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Lucknow boy is USA’s U-19 team vice-captain for World Cup qualifier
Young Utkarsh Srivastava’s parents moved to the USA in 2016 and he is being trained by former West Indies’ great Alvin Kallicharran.
Sixteen-year-old Utkarsh Srivastava, who has roots in Lucknow’s Hussainganj and wants to emulate Virat Kohli, has been named vice-captain of the USA team for the ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup qualifiers, scheduled to be played from August 11 in Canada.
He follows New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, too, but idolises the Kohli most and describes him as a big inspiration for many youngsters in the world. The World Cup will be played at Sri Lanka in February/March next year. Before that, the qualifying event will feature teams from Argentina and Bermuda along with the USA and hosts Canada. With only one spot at the World Cup up for grabs, every game will be vital.
“All matches are important, and we will leave no stone unturned to make it count by finishing at the top. Ever since I have been watching cricket, I have dreamed of being a batter like Kohli, who has been everything to me. I keep following both Kohli and Williamsons everywhere, but Kohli’s stylish batting fascinates me most,” Utkarsh said on Wednesday hours before leaving for Toronto for a week’s build- up to the main event.
The USA team will play a series of warm-up matches against arch-rivals Canada before their first official World Cup qualifier match on August 11.
Utkarsh, who scored 3500 runs in 2022, including 555 runs in MLC Jr Championship U15 National, has so far struck three centuries and 14 half-centuries in the new season of the Divi1 Adult League PL.
Utkarsh also has snapped up plenty of wickets as an off-spinner. He believes that qualifying for the 2024 event, the first time since 2010, would be a considerable boost to the continued growth of the game in the United States by providing a clear focus for the USA’s junior and youth cricketers.
“We have got a balanced side and have done our homework well. What we need in Canada is to execute our plans well as only one team will make it to the World Cup and we don’t want to miss this opportunity,” said Utkarsh, adding, “Most of the players in the team have been playing cricket together for a long time so our coordination is fine.”
In fact, Utkarsh started playing cricket at the age of just seven in Pune. His father Bhavuk Srivastava, a software professional, shifted to the USA from Pune in 2016. The move turned out to be a life-changer for Utkarsh, who got enrolled in a local cricket club in Cary, a small town in North Carolina in the USA, as this club had former West Indies’ great Alvin Kallicharran as cricket coach.
“Within two years, when he was just 11, my son scored a century in Adult League and won overall appreciation from everyone,” Bhavuk said. “In fact, my father DK Srivastava, a senior officer in Northern Railway in Lucknow, was a good cricketer of his time in the 1960s. So, I feel that my son has cricket in his genes,” Bhavuk.
