It's quite interesting how careers turn around in sports. From the day when he won the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup, Virat Kohli has gone on to become a world beater, one of the finest batters to ever play the game. But most of his other teammates from that Under-19 squad didn't find the cricketing career to be as rewarding. As Virat begins a new adventure in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season with the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), his former U19 India teammate Tanmay Srivastava will make his umpiring debut in the same T20 league.
According to a report in the Times of India, Tanmay landed an umpiring job in the IPL, at the age of 35. Incidentally, Tanmay was the top-scoring batter for India in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup final. But his career didn't lead to the same road as Kohli's did.
Tanmay also earned a contract with Punjab Kings after showing his talent in the 2008 U19 World Cup but it all went downhill for him afterwards.
"I understood that was the best player I could be," Srivastava said in a chat with TOI. "I was nowhere close to playing the IPL. I had to decide if I wanted to prolong life as a player or have a longer successful second innings."
Tanmay ended his cricketing career at the age of 30 while he was still the captain of the Uttarakhand team, having previously played for Uttar Pradesh. He decided to try something else in cricket other than being a player. The decision was understandably a hard one. While Tanmay hasn't yet been given an on-field role in the IPL, he is keeping his fingers crossed.
A true player never leaves the field—just changes the game.
Wishing Tanmay Srivastava the best as he dons a new hat with the same passion!#UPCA #IPL #UP #PrideOfUP pic.twitter.com/wrRoW31OG2
Tanmay is
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