Samit Dravid, son of legendary Indian batter Rahul Dravid, has achieved a big milestone in his young career with a first call-up to the Indian U-19 squad for the upcoming developmental series against the Australian U-19 team.
Samit, who is a fast-bowling all-rounder, has impressed in domestic and youth level cricket over the last year, and is part of the Mysore Warriors team which has made the final in Karnataka’s Maharaja Trophy tournament this week.
What did Samit Dravid say?
Speaking to Star Sports Kannada, 18-year-old Samit said “First of all, I’m very happy to be selected, and thank you for all your wishes. I am feeling great, I’ve worked very hard for this moment.”
News of Samit’s selection follows after the BCCI’s announcement of the teams for the ODI and 4-day squads for this series against Australia, and Dravid features in both units. Mohamed Amaan of Uttar Pradesh will lead the limited overs squad, while Soham Patwardhan of Madhya Pradesh is captain for the red ball games.
Following in his talismanic father’s footsteps, Samit has made a name for himself in the Karnataka domestic circuit, particularly an impressive set of showings in the U-19 Cooch Behar Trophy. Similar to his father, Samit has shown a particular affinity for the red-ball format, helping Karnataka lift the trophy earlier this year with 16 wickets and 382 runs in the tournament.
Samit Dravid has impressed with the similarities in style and technique to his father Rahul Dravid, who is widely considered one of the most technically astute and rock-solid batters the sport has seen. Beyond this, he has shown great skill and aggression in his fast bowling as well.
While he has big shoes to fill and there is certainly additional pressure with the name on his back, Indian fans would be hopeful that Samit can develop into the type of fast-bowling all-rounder every team loves to have. It is a long way yet to that point, but Samit has shown that he has all the potential to carry the Dravid name forward in world cricket.
The series against Australia begins with 3 one-day matches played in Puducherry beginning on 21st September, followed by a pair of four-day matches in Chennai.