With good performances in their heydays, cricket icons like Sunil Gavaskar, Bishen Singh Bedi and Gundappa Viswanath inspired a generation of youngsters.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni's rise seems to have had a similar impact on budding cricketers in Jharkhand.

Ishank Jaggi, Rahul Shukla, Varun Aaron and Sourabh Tiwari have all found places in different Indian Premier League franchises.

"No doubt, Dhoni's emergence has driven the kids from Jharkhand to excel in cricket. His towering presence and consistent performance has instilled confidence in budding cricketers which is reflected in four players finding places in the IPL teams," observed former Bihar Ranji captain Adil Hussain.

"During our days, players from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh hardly found any place in national teams. The yardstick for selection was their performance in Ranji Trophy and these players hardly got any chance to showcase their talent," argued Hussain.

While Jharkhand pace bowler Varun Aaron was snapped up by Shah Rukh Khan's Kolkata team, his bowling partner Rahul Shukla has found a place in the Mumbai team led by the great Tendulkar.

Sourabh Tiwari, who has hit two half centuries against Jaipur and Delhi, is representing Mumbai, and must be looking forward to have a crack at the Dhoni-led Chennai team.

"These boys have got the real opportunity to break into limited over and Test cricket, if they perform well in the ongoing IPL...There has been instances of players from the IPL-1 and IPL-2 getting into the other two versions," Hussain said.

Aother ex-Bihar captain K V P Rao and the current coach of Jammu and Kashmir Ranji team is also of the opinion that any cricketer excelling internationally would automatically generate interest in the game.

"Why go back to the days of Gavaskar and Bedi...even Sourav Ganguly and Debasis Mohanty attracted few players from their respective states, Bengal and Orissa, who went on to play international cricket," Rao said.

"But what these players need to learn is endurance. There have been instances when a player has flattered to deceive ...

becoming a one-match wonder. For consistent performance, Jharkhand cricket authorities should make club cricket a regular feature and more interesting," said Rao.

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