India’s 2018 U-19 World Cup-winning team had some seriously talented cricketers in its ranks. During the triumphant campaign in New Zealand, the Prithvi Shaw-led side remained unbeaten throughout.
While the Boys in Blue had recorded massive wins in all 3 of their group matches against Australia, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe respectively, they thrashed Bangladesh U-19 in the quarter-final clash by 131 runs before annihilating arch-rivals Pakistan in the semi-final by 203 runs and smashing Australia in the summit clash by 8 wickets.
All-rounder Abhishek Sharma, who was part of that side, reminisced about clinching the U-19 World Cup in an exclusive chat with India TV.
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The 20-year-old revealed that all players of that group including coach Rahul Dravid had dreamt of lifting the coveted trophy.
"Under-19 World Cup was a very good experience as we were already playing in the age group for two years. Since the start, all players including Rahul Dravid sir dreamt of lifting the World Cup," Abhishek said.
"Our mindset was strong and so was our team bonding, which eventually helped to gain momentum in the tournament. Our combination was also strong and we knew about each other's strengths. Shubman Gill single-handedly steered us to the victory in the semi-final against Pakistan. We were really proud of him and the victory was a confidence-booster for us," he added.
Abhishek, who plays for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League, is confident that his franchise will bounce back strongly in the second half of the cash-rich event.
The 2021 edition of Indian Premier League was postponed indefinitely on May 4 after multiple COVID-19 cases were reported in the bio-bubble of various franchises.
The now-suspended IPL 2021 saw only 29 games being played and SRH finished last on the points table with only 1 win from 7 games.
"After a below-par IPL 2021, SunRisers Hyderabad would like to get a fresh start when the tournament resumes later this year. Every player knows his role and we would like to finish the season on a positive note," he said.
Born in Amritsar, Abhishek Sharma hailed Yuvraj Singh as his idol right from the start.
"Yuvraj Singh has been my role model from the start. Used to see him win matches for India while growing up. As I'm also a left-handed batsman, I saw him as an idol."
