India cemented their record as the most successful team in the history of the ICC Under-19 World Cup by defeating England in the final of the 2022 edition of the tournament and claiming the title for the fifth time.
Led by Yash Dhull, the Indian team overcame every challenge thrown at them to remain undefeated in the tournament and cap off a remarkable run to the title. They were pushed into a corner with multiple cases of Covid-19 in the tournament but that didn’t stop them from being dominant throughout.
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India’s victory in the Caribbean put forth a number of exciting prospects for international cricket, with the likes of Dhull, Raj Bawa, Shaik Rasheed, Nishant Sindhu, Vicky Ostwal and Angkrish Raghuvanshi having standout tournaments.
VVS Laxman, head of India’s National Cricket Academy, was with the team throughout the tournament and witnessed their journey from close quarters.
Reflecting on their success during the broadcast after the match, the legendary batter said he was most impressed by the resilience shown by the young players.
“I think huge congratulation to the selection committee, because it was a new selection committee and it was quite challenging for them to identify this group and after that I thought the coaching staff with Hrishikesh [Kantikar] as the head coach, SairaJ Bahutule and Munish Bali and all the support staff, I think the way they brought this group together, they worked really hard,” said Laxman.
“They won the Asia Cup and the preparation to this World Cup was fantastic. But in the middle of this tournament, we all know what happened to the boys to test positive, but to show that kind of resilience and positive attitude was just exemplary.”
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India have won the Under-19 World Cup a record eight times, twice more than Australia who are at second place in the list. They have featured in the final on eight occasions and been the most consistent team by far since Mohammad Kaif and Co won the title back in 2000.
“I think BCCI has to be complemented for the number of matches, the number of tournaments, each age group level players get to play, whether it’s under 16, whether it’s under 19, under 23,” said Laxman.
“But unfortunately, over the last two years, because of Covid. They didn’t play any tournament and that’s why I think this tournament win is very special.”
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Laxman added that this victory for Dhull and his team is just the beginning.
“It’s important, but I think this is just a learning process, this is just a start of the journey and everyone in this group understands that, because this is all about their development as players as persons, and it’s great to see the way they have developed, the way they’ve evolved over the last couple of months and so it’s very exciting times for all of them, but it’s just the start of the journey as a cricketer,” he said.