Rohit Sharma: India U-19s playing well, great chance of winning the World Cup

Rohit says the Indian colts should enjoy the moment and give it their best shot in the final of the U-19 World Cup on Saturday.

FILE PHOTO: The Indian U-19 men's cricket team is one step away from clinching its sixth U-19 World Cup title.

India captain Rohit Sharma believes that the Indian U-19 team has a “great chance” of winning the ICC U-19 World Cup. Led by Yash Dhull, the colts will play England in the summit clash on Saturday .

Rohit feels that the young cricketers should enjoy the moment. “I would like to wish them the best for the final. They have played some solid cricket to reach the final… Every day you don’t reach the final, so when you have the opportunity, first try and enjoy it and then give it your best. The kind of cricket they are playing, we have a great chance of winning the World Cup. I wish the entire team all the best and I hope they come out winning the game,” Rohit said.

In December, Rohit was at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru for rehab, and during his stay, he had a session with the U-19 team, which was then preparing for the Asia Cup.

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“During the chat, I shared my experiences of playing the World Cup and the Asia Cup and also how it is to play against different opponents. That’s the challenge of ICC events. In a bilateral series, since you are playing just one opposition, you know what they can come up with it. If you have one bad game, you know what to do in the second one. But when you are playing an ICC tournament, different opposition challenge you in a different way (sic),” Rohit, who was part of the India U-19 squad which played the final of the 2006 U-19 World Cup against Pakistan, said.

“I was just talking to them about how you need to plan against different opposition and how important it is to go out there and enjoy the moment, without thinking much.”

Praise from Ganguly

While virtually attending the foundation-stone-laying ceremony of Rajasthan Cricket Association’s new stadium, BCCI president and former India captain Sourav Ganguly, too, had a message for the U-19 team.

“Today is an important day for us. The U-19 team will be playing the World Cup final in the West Indies against England. It is another memorable day for us and hopefully, in the end, we all will be able to cheer and be happy for what they have done…,” Ganguly said.