U-19 World Cup 2022 | ‘Resilience and positive attitude was exemplary’, VVS Laxman praises India Under 19 team
India won the Under 19 World Cup by beating England in the final
|VVS Laxman has said that the India Under 19 team showed a lot of resilience and positive attitude in spite of six players being tested positive for coronavirus in the middle of the tournament after winning the World Cup. Laxman also praised the election committee saying they really worked hard.
India under 19 team won the World Cup beating England Under 19 in the final by four wickets. The team played quality cricket and a great team effort saw them lifting the trophy. The team was affected with Corona virus in the middle of the tournament as six players were forced into isolation due to testing positive.
VVS Laxman was with the team during the tournament. He opined that the team showed a lot of resilience and positive attitude.
"In the middle of this tournament, we all know what happened to the boys," Laxman told the host broadcasters. "To test positive, but to show that kind of resilience and positive attitude, was exemplary,” he stated.
For the Indian team, Angkrish Raghuvanshi scored 278 runs from six fixtures and was the highest run-scorer of the team. Raj Bawa scored 252 runs from five innings. Vicky Ostwal bagged 12 wickets from six matches in the tournament. Laxman praised the selection committee for working hard and putting the squad together.
"I think huge congratulations to the selection committee because it was a new selection committee and it was quite challenging for them to identify this group,” he explained.
"And after that, I thought the coaching staff with Hrishikesh as the head coach, Sairaj Bahutule and Munish Bali and all the support staff, the way they brought this group together, they worked really hard. They won the Asia Cup and the preparation for 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.”
Laxman also praised the BCCI for the number of matches they organise for each age group.
"I think the BCCI has to be complimented for the number of matches. the number of tournaments each age group level player gets to play, whether it's under-16, whether it's under-19, under-23. 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,” he opined.
The players from Under 19 teams are looked at as future prospects. Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Prithvi Shaw are some of the players who have been part of the Under 19 teams in the past. Laxman expressed that it is a start of journey for these players to be cricketers at senior level.
"Everyone in this group understands that, because this is all about development as players, as persons, and it's great to see the way they have developed and the way they've evolved over the last couple of months. It's a very exciting time for all of them but it's just the start of their journeys as cricketers,” he stated.
