Resilience and positive attitude was exemplary - Laxman lauds U19 team

India beat England by 4 wickets in the final © Getty
VVS Laxman praised the India Under-19 team for its resilience in the face of a Covid-19 crisis after Yash Dhull's side completed a memorable 4-wicket victory over England in the final on Saturday (February 5) to give the country its fifth U19 World Cup win.

India's campaign in the Caribbean was hit by Covid-19 with as many as six players, including captain Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed, forced into isolation after testing positive for the virus. They went to the tournament with a 17-member squad but just about managed to cobble together an eleven for the game against Ireland.

"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."

Laxman, who heads the National Cricket Academy, reserved special praise for the selection committee led by Sharath Sridharan for putting together this squad despite being appointed to the post as late as September 17 with very little cricket left to be played in the restricted, pandemic-stricken season.

"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, Laxman said.

"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, 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.

"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."

While lauding the achievement, Laxman was also quick to remind the significance of the tournament and how it was but a first step in the journey of these players. "This is just the start of their journey," he said.

"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."

After the result, the BCCI announced an INR 40 lac prize money for each player of the victorious campaign and INR 25 lac for every support member.

Sourav GangulySourav Ganguly
@SGanguly99FollowCongratulations to the under 19 team and the support staff and the selectors for winning the world cup in such a magnificent way ..The cash prize announced by us of 40 lakhs is a small token of appreciation but their efforts are beyond value .. magnificent stuff. @bcci
06 Feb 2022