The India U-19 side clinched the 2022 edition of the U-19 World Cup last Saturday (February 5) with a four-wicket victory over England in the final at Antigua.
During their triumphant campaign, the Boys in Blue didn’t lose a single match, winning group encounters against South Africa, Ireland, and Uganda and then the knockout games against Bangladesh, Australia, and England to lift a record-extending fifth U-19 World Cup title.
After leading the team to the Youth World Cup trophy, Yash Dhull has lost count of the number of flights he has boarded.
The victorious squad took as many as four flights to reach India from the Caribbean and then they were felicitated by the BCCI in Ahmedabad on February 9.
Dhull arrived in Delhi on Thursday (February 10) morning and met his family for about 30 minutes before catching a flight for Guwahati, where he is set to make his Ranji Trophy debut for Delhi next week.
“I have hardly slept the last few days but it is not something I can complain about. What I have done till now is done, I need to focus on what lies in the immediate future,” Dhull told PTI in an exclusive chat.
During the tournament, the Indian team was hit by COVID-19 and Yash Dhull was one of the five players to contract the virus after the first game. As a result, he missed out on India’s league matches against Ireland and Uganda.
While the captain hit 82 in the tournament opener against South Africa, he featured in the knockout fixtures against Bangladesh, Australia and England and registered scores of 20*, 110 and 17.
With his confidence sky-high, the 19-year-old has set himself an 18-month target to play for the senior Indian team.
“That is my target but If I am not able to do that in the 18 month time frame, I will keep working hard till I attain my goal,” he said.
Dhull is the third captain from Delhi to win the U-19 World Cup title after Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand, who both had contrasting career graphs.
“The names you have taken (Kohli and Chand), I am not thinking on those lines. I want to remain humble and not think about the future too much.
“Virat bhai shared his experience with me on what happened with him post the U19 World Cup (in 2008).
“I got to know a lot from approaching my career from here on, the chat with him has helped me understand things I need to focus on going forward and things I need to avoid,” he said referring to the conversation with Kohli on the eve of the U-19 World Cup final.
The transition from U-19 to First-Class is a big one but Yash Dhull believes it is something he can handle.
“I will have to change my mindset for the red ball game, preparation will be different. I don’t think it will be a lot different and tougher than white ball. The red ball does a bit early on but and if you can see that initial period batting becomes easier.
“It is all about the mindset from here on. Physically how fit you are. It is not one specific area, I will have to work on all my shots to become a better player,” he remarked.
(With PTI inputs)
