A wicketkeeper batsman like his idol Adam Gilchrist, Shreevats Goswami began playing cricket at the age of 11 and has represented his state, Bengal, and country at the Under-19 level. He had a successful U-19 tour of South Africa in 2008 where he scored 104 and 97 in the tri-series played the vital role of opener in India's U-19 World Cup triumph in Malaysia in 2008, scoring a valuable 58 in the semi-final against a testing New Zealand attack. He made his first-class debut later that year and in between, earned an IPL contract with the Royal Challengers Bangalore though he had only limited opportunities in the first two seasons. Cricinfo staff May 2009