Mumbai, Apr 22 (UNI) An All India inter-schools tournament will be conducted for under-16 players beginning next year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced here.

All the state associations have been told to conduct their own schools cricket tourneys from next year to identify who will play in the zonal league to qualify for the inter-zonals, BCCI's Chief Administrative Officer Ratnakar Shetty said at a function.

Mr Shetty was attending a function to announce five players, who were selected from a list of 20 under-17 boys after the Boost Cricket Cup coaching camp at Mumbai Cricket Association ground at Kandivli here.

The selected players were awarded Rs 20,000 each.

Sandeep Kaushik (all-rounder), Nitesh Rana (batsman), M Kamalesh (wicketkeeper-batsman), Shahnawaz Mirza (batsman) and Yatharth Tomar (bowler) were selected.

They were picked by former Test cricketer Mohinder Amarnath and former one-day player Surinder Khanna.

Khanna, a former wicket-keeper and hard-hitting batsman, advised the players who were present to make sure that they not only practised hard but also did it correctly by taking the cue from Australian and South African players.

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