Former India cricketer turned VVS Laxman was a proud man as the Indian U19 batch he had closely overseen went on to lift the country’s fifth junior World Cup crown on February 5.
Laxman, who went to the Caribbean as the new National Cricket Academy Director recently, was impressed with the skills and the temperament on display throughout the tournament.
But the Indian batting great made it a point to speak of the Yash Dhull-led batch’s “resilience” in the face of adversity, as the camp suffered a few setbacks following a coronavirus outbreak but still rallied along to take the trophy with an unbeaten six-match streak.
“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 exemplary,”
he told host broadcaster Star Sports.
As many as six Indian players, including captain Dhull, returned a positive Covid test during the group stage of the tournament. The skipper, enjoying a purple patch with the bat, had to be isolated from the group for some days along with two other in-form batters, Shaik Rasheed and Nishant Sandhu, who made pivotal half-centuries in the final against England.
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Yet, the shoulders never dropped for the Indians, who were soon bolstered by the return of their best players and dominated each of the opposition they came around.
The Boys in Blue started impressively with a win against South Africa, before ruthlessly dominating Ireland and Uganda to storm into the Super League knock-outs. Three wins away from World Cup glory, the side then avenged their previous edition’s finale loss to defending champions Bangladesh in the quarter-final, crushed Australia in the semis and overcame England in the summit clash with ease.
Dhull only reaffirmed Laxman’s point and said the team worked like a “family” in difficult hours when they had to reshuffle their combination because of the virus. He credited another key individual – head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar – behind the team’s revival and resounding win.
“It’s a proud moment to achieve something for India. At first it was difficult to find our combinations in the tournament but then we became like a family.
Sir [head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar] made it a good environment and team strength was good,”
Dhull was quoted as saying at the post-match presentation ceremony.
