India captain Virat Kohli on Wednesday backed the Under-19 team to win the World Cup final against Australia on Saturday. The 29-year-old said that the Prithvi Shaw-led team was a lot more confident than his own side that had won the 2008 U19 World Cup, reported PTI.
“It feels amazing [to see the U19 team do well],” Kohli said in his press conference ahead of the One-Day International series against South Africa. “I interacted with them before they left [for the U19 World Cup in New Zealand] and it’s a lovely bunch of boys.”
He added, “Compared to our lot [in 2008], the confidence levels are somewhere else which is a great sign. You’ll see many people making a strong statement for themselves much earlier than we all did.”
India are in the final of the 2018 U19 World Cup after beating Pakistan by 203 runs in the semi-finals and are so far unbeaten in the tournament. Kohli said the boys, coached by former India captain Rahul Dravid, are on course to win a fourth U19 World Cup for India.
“Playing such a high pressure game [against Pakistan], they really stood up and thats what you want to see,” he said. “You want to see people standing up when it’s needed the most. I want to wish them all the very best for the final.”
Kohli added that the Indian senior team will be following the final “very keenly” and are “eagerly waiting to see them lift the cup” again. “I believe they have the talent, and they believe in that much more than I do, which I think is very, very important,” he said.
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