U-19 World Cup: India coach Kanitkar confident few from current crop will graduate to senior level

India might have finished on the wrong side of the result in the final against Australia after reaching a fifth consecutive final, but India U-19 coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar was confident at least a couple of members of the Uday Saharan-led batch of 2024 would go on to represent the country at the senior level.

The ‘Boys in Blue’ suffered a disappointing 79-run loss against Australia in the summit clash on Sunday, missing out on a record-extending sixth title. This despite the Indians dishing out one dominant performance after another in the group stage as well as in the Super Sixes and entering the final as the only team to have won all of their matches.

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Despite missing out on the title, players such as skipper Saharan (397 runs), Musheer Khan (360 runs) and Saumy Pandey (18 wickets) had given a good account of themselves during the campaign and former India batter Kanitkar was confident of at least a couple of them breaking into the senior team in the near future.

“Definitely (the future of India is very bright). As a bowling side and as a batting side, there have been stand out performances by quite a few players.

“They have shown maturity in tough situations and that bodes well for Indian cricket,” Kanitkar said at the post-match press conference on Sunday.

Saharan, who plays for Punjab, ended the tournament as the highest run-getter with 397 runs.

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His stature grew as the tournament progressed. He scored a century against Nepal before playing a match-winning 81 in the semifinal against South Africa.

Number three batter Mursheer, the younger brother of prolific Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan, was the team’s most consistent performer with the bat and ended with 360 runs.

The two other stand-out players were Dhas, who revelled in the role of a finisher, and left-arm spinner Pandey, who snared 18 wickets.

Maharashtra batter Dhas showed temperament, a pre-requisite for the highest level.

The Indian team has always been an age-group powerhouse and the U-19 World Cup has presented stars like Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammed Kaif, Suresh Raina, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal to name a few.

“Everytime time there are a couple of guys who step up either in the IPL or the Indian team. I’m sure there will be a couple, but there is great competition back home,” Kanitkar added.

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Squad members Arshin Kulkarni and Avanish Rao went into the U-19 World Cup having already secured IPL contracts.

Kanitkar feels playing in the U-19 World Cup provides the players with an insight into how playing at the senior level is.

“For the players great journey, everything is highlighted, these performances matter, they are under the scanner. They get used to these situations. The know what expect and are prepared when they play higher cricket,” said the 49-year-old head coach.

With PTI inputs