Sachin Tendulkar weighed in on the debate on whether youngsters should be given a go in the Indian team with an eye on the T20 World Cup. He said age shouldn't be a criteria while picking teams and the best XI should be played at all times. "One thing I would like to clarify here is that it is not just about picking youngsters. It is about picking capable players. You are talking about the Indian cricket team, age should not be criteria. It is about what you are able to deliver and that is what matters, not age. If somebody is able to perform and may not be a young cricketer, but if you are able to perform you should be playing for India," Tendulkar told ANI.
"Talking about youngsters, if you are able to perform... then he rightfully deserves it. But if he is not able to perform, then maybe there are options you can look at.
"It is just not about age, it is a misconception that you should promote youngsters. I feel we should be picking our best 11. We should be picking our best 14-15 member squad and the best balance is known to the selection committee and it should be left to them," he added.
Two guys who have impressed in the ongoing T20I series against England are Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan.
Tendulkar believes playing top-quality bowlers in the Indian Premier League has readied the youngsters for the tough challenges on the international stage.
"As far as Suryakumar and Ishan are concerned, they both have done really well, they have not looked out of place at all and there is a reason for that," Tendulkar said.
"They played against all these guys a number of times (in the IPL).
"For us, when I went to Pakistan and Australia, I was playing all those bowlers for the first time and that was at international level.
"So here the beauty is that they have played against top bowlers in the IPL and then playing against them for India.
"It is a big difference, you know what to expect from them and that is what has happened. That is the beauty of our structure and we can noticeably see that our bench strength is really good," he explained.