Warne asked him, Trivedi found a way

New Delhi: In the 44-day IPL that sent a billion strong nation into a trance along with a bevy of controversies that provided fodder to an equally frenzied media, Rajasthan Royals' victory has been the icing on the cake of Indian cricket's biggest carnival.

The galaxy of stars have shone bright throughout, while a sea of the country's next big hopes have been identified. No wonder then, that many of them belonged to Hollywood's entourage.

A scarring defeat in their first game spurred Jaipur to bounce back like no-one, and almost everyone who took part looked the part.

Yusuf Pathan, declared man of the match in the final, has already booked a place in the Indian One-day team that tours Bangladesh and Pakistan soon. Swapnil Asnodkar finds a place in an India A team that tours Israel, while Siddharth Trivedi, Pankaj Singh and Ravindra Jadeja feature in an Indian youth team set to tour Australia.

Save Ravindra Jadeja, who has previously had his share of limelight with the Indian Under-19 team recently, the rest, mostly in their mid 20s, would be grateful this opportunity came along. But if Siddharth Kishorkumar Trivedi's 13 wickets were anything to go by, the Gujarat medium-pacer would flip through last year's domestic record (21 wickets in six Plate League games) and silence the detractors, if any.

"I have performed well in domestic cricket," Trivedi beams after he was picked for the Indian youth team. "I'm glad that people have noticed my performances in the IPL. It's turned out to be the biggest platform for many of us."

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