Laxman hails resilience, positive attitude of Indian players after U19 WC triumph

St John's [Antigua], February 6 : Former India batter and current National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman hailed the resilience shown by India in the recently-concluded U19 World Cup.
India lifted a record fifth U19 World Cup title after defeating England in the summit clash here at the Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium on Saturday.
Few of the squad members including Shaik Rasheed and Yash Dhull had tested positive for COVID-19 midway through the tournament, but whoever stepped in did their role perfectly and India did not lose a single game in the 2022 U19 World Cup.
"Firstly, huge congratulations 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 think it's the coaching staff with Hrishikesh as the head coach, Sairaj Munish Bali, and all the support staff. The way they brought this group together, they worked really hard and won the Asia Cup and the preparation for this World Cup was fantastic," said Laxman after India won its fifth U19 World Cup title.
"In the middle of the tournament, we all know what happened to the boys, to test positive but to show that kind of resilience and positive attitude is exemplary. I think BCCI has to be complemented, the number of tournaments each age group players gets to play, but unfortunately over the last two years because of Covid they didn't play any tournament and that's why this win is very special. It is just a learning process and everyone understands that in the group, Exciting times for all of them," he added.
The Yash Dhull-led side defeated the Three Lions in the summit clash by four wickets. Earlier, India had won the U19 World Cup in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2018.
Earlier, BCCI secretary Jay Shah announced a Rs 40 lakh reward for every player of the U19 World Cup-winning team. He also said that every member of the support staff will be getting Rs 25 lakh.
"I am pleased to announce the reward of 40 lacs per player and 25 lacs per support staff for the U19 #TeamIndia contingent for their exemplary performance in the #U19CWC final. You have made India proud," tweeted Shah.
Chasing 190, India got off to the worst start possible as Joshua Boyden dismissed Angkrish Raghuvanshi (0) on the third ball of the innings. Harnoor Singh and Shaik Rasheed then got together at the crease and the duo put on 49 runs for the second wicket. As soon as India started to gain an upper hand, England stormed right back into the contest in the 18th over as Thomas Aspinwall dismissed Harnoor (21), reducing India to 49/2.
Skipper Yash Dhull next joined Rasheed in the middle and both batters stitched together a partnership of 46 runs which saw Rasheed (50) going past his 50-run mark. However, as soon as he reached the milestone, he ended up giving his wicket away to James Sales. In his next over, Sales picked up the scalp of Dhull (17), and India was reduced to 97/4, still needing 93 runs for the win.
Raj Bawa (35) and Nishant Sindhu (50*) then ensured that India does not lose wickets in a cluster. In the end, India registered a four-wicket win to lift the U19 World Cup for the fifth time.