New Delhi, April 4 Following five home Test defeats against New Zealand and South Africa in 2024 and 2025 respectively, the BCCI's Centre of Excellence (COE) under VVS Laxman has drawn up a comprehensive plan, with young players like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre set to participate in four-day red ball matches in an intra-COE tournament in June-July.
The aim of the intra-COE tournament, involving 64 top young cricketers – all aged under 25 – is to identify and create a talent pipeline to revitalize India's red ball cricket for the next decade.
It is understood that all coaches, national selectors (including senior, pathways (India A, India U-23), and age-group (U-19, U-16) selectors associated with the Centre of Excellence) have been explicitly instructed that the primary focus during the next year's High Performance Camps in Bengaluru will be on developing the red ball talent pool, considering both near-term and long-term prospects.
"The India Emerging team will consist only of U-25 players, and they will also represent India A in shadow tours. The plan will be created with the input of senior chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir," a BCCI source told
"Once the IPL concludes, both the U-19 and Emerging (U-25) teams will tour Sri Lanka for four-day matches. The squads will be selected based on their performances in the intra-COE tournament," the source added.
How Will Teams Be Selected?
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The plan is to select 64 cricketers, who will then be divided into four squads of 16 each. Each team will get to play two four-day red ball matches at the COE, with different pitch conditions available to provide them with proper match practice.
Out of the 64, there will be 25 cricketers (U-23), who will be selected by the junior selection committee headed by S Sharath, comprising players who have performed well in the Cooch Behar (U-19) and CK Nayudu (U-22) red ball events.
Another 25 cricketers (U-23 and U-25) will be selected by the senior selection committee from among those who have performed in the Ranji Trophy, Vijay Hazare Trophy, and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy (SMAT), but are not part of the Indian Premier League.
In addition to these 50 cricketers, there will be another 14 players, mainly young superstars who are part of the IPL, including Mhatre, Sooryavanshi, and Sameer Rizvi, who would complete the list of 64, provided they are all fit and available.
"The idea is to select 25 after the intra-COE tournament, and this core group of cricketers will represent both Emerging and India A in shadow tours. The BCCI brass and Team India management are clear on this – even for U-19s, the focus for the next year must be on red ball cricket," the source said.