U19 World Cup: Delhi boys as captains are lucky charm for India, says former selector

After India defeated Bangladesh in the ongoing U-19 World Cup, Sarandeep Singh said that Indian captains who hail from Delhi are a lucky charm for the country and he hopes Yash Dhull to become a bigger player.

India U-19 captain Yash Dhull (Source: Twitter)

Former selector Sarandeep Singh praised Team India's U-19 squad for progressing to the Super League semi-finals of the ongoing U-19 World Cup.

A spirited bowling performance backed up by a quality knock by Angkrish Raghuvanshi helped India defeat Bangladesh by five wickets in the quarterfinal on Saturday.

"Too good of a performance from Under 19 players and the way they are batting and the way they are bowling. Looking at their aggression, it shows that they are very hungry and they want to win the World Cup and their performance is showing. Everyone is doing their job. Their batsmen are scoring runs. The fast bowlers with their bowling are getting wickets," Sarandeep told ANI.

"Pacer Ravi Kumar is a tall guy. The way he swings the ball with the ball going outside as well as swinging inside. He looks like a wicket taker bowler. He always looks to take wickets. He is not the one to concentrate on pace. At under 19 level the youngsters to bowl quick at 140-145 but this boy shows how talented he is. He is bowling quick. He is bowling in good line. He is getting early breakthroughs for his team," he added.

All Over: Sealed with a SIX

India U19 have advanced to the semi-final of #U19CWC with a 5-wicket win over Bangladesh U19 in Antigua! #BoysInBlue #INDvBAN

Details - https://t.co/GJsWrPDzdJ pic.twitter.com/tkt6xC3qD9

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 29, 2022

The former selector further said that Indian captains who hail from Delhi are a lucky charm for the country and he hopes Yash Dhull to become a bigger player.

"Delhi boys as captains are lucky charm for India. What Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand did as Under 19 captains. They contributed a lot. Unmukt Chand scored a century in the final. I hope Yash comes and plays a bigger knock in the semifinal," said the former selector.

"The legacy which is there should carry on and play better cricket against Australians because they are playing well and cricket has now also changed and be focused," he added.

Chasing 112, India got off to a bad start as the Yash Dhull-led side lost opener Harnoor Singh (0) in the second over of the innings bowled by Tanzim Hasan Sakib. Angkrish Raghuvanshi and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed got together at the crease to see out the opening spells of Bangladesh's new-ball bowlers.

Raghuvanshi and Rasheed put on 70 runs for the second wicket and the partnership was finally broken in the 21st over as Ripon Mondol got the better of Raghuvanshi (44) and this brought skipper Yash Dhull to the middle. Soon after, Rasheed (26) and Siddarth Yadav (6) also perished and India was reduced to 82/4 in the 24th over.

In the end, skipper Dhull (20*) and Kaushal Tambe (11*) guided India to a five-wicket win with 19.1 overs to spare.

With this win, India will now lock horns against Australia in the Super League semi-final on Wednesday, February 2.