Virat Kohli takes a walk down memory lane from his U19 World Cup win in 2008

Virat Kohli won the U19 World Cup for India U19 in 2008.

Virat Kohli with Indian U19 World Cup winning team

Virat Kohli is the reigning king of Indian cricket at the moment. He has achieved so much in the last decade in all forms of the international cricket, that he has been undisputedly called the best batsman of his generation.

Kohli showed his greatness even during the junior cricket days, when he continued playing a Ranji match, despite the loss of his father during the match. However, the biggest achievement that Kohli got during his U19 days was leading the India U19 team to the U19 World Cup win in 2008 in Malaysia.

With the U19 World Cup 2018 on the horizon, Virat Kohli spoke about his own experience of playing in the U19 World Cup.

He said, “The ICC U19 World Cup was a very important milestone in my career. It helped us get a good platform to build on and make our careers from thereon, so it holds a very important place in my mind and heart. It’s very important to understand and respect the opportunity it provides you and as I said, for me, it holds a very special place in my heart".

Virat Kohli had led U19 Indian team to a win in the finals against South Africa U19 in Kuala Lumpur, despite rain affecting the match.

He played in the U19 World Cup with the likes of Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Kane Williamson, who have gone onto make a name for themselves in international cricket for New Zealand.

I remember playing against Kane. He was someone who always stood out in the team, his batting ability was very different from the other players who were around. Steve (Smith) I did not quite play against at the U19 level, so I didn’t watch him bat, but he has come a long way in his career as well. It is good to know that so many people from that batch, not just three of us captaining our countries, but apart from that a lot of players have played for their respective countries,” Kohli remembered.

India U19 will be captained by Mumbai sensation Prithvi Shaw in next month’s U19 World Cup to be played in New Zealand. The Indian team is coached by Indian batting legend Rahul Dravid.

 

 
 

By Jatin Sharma - 23 Dec, 2017

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