India's U-19 World Cup-winning skipper Unmukt Chand proved yet again that he has a very stable head on his young shoulders when he said yesterday that he wasn't thinking about the senior India cap just yet and was instead happy to focus on the forthcoming India 'A' tour to New Zealand
Despite recent comments made by Australia legend Ian Chappell rating him as the next big thing in Indian cricket, the Delhi lad said he was not thinking too far ahead just yet.u00a0
Over the moon: India skipper Unmukt Chand holds aloft the ICC U-19 World Cup trophy
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“My current priority is to play for the India ‘A’ team and gain experience from that. I want to play in the senior team but there is still a long time for that. At the moment, my focus is on gaining experience playing for India A (that tours New Zealand next month) and then let’s see,” said the 19-year-old during a felicitation function for the victorious colts at a city hotel yesterday.
What a tour!
Chand top-scored for India with 246 runs from six games, including a match-winning knock of 111 not out in the final against Australia. India lost to the Windies first-up and then registered wins against Zimbabwe, Papua New Guinea, Pakistan (quarter-finals), New Zealand (semis) and Australia (final) to emerge ICC U-19 world champions for the third time with Chand following the footsteps of Mohammad Kaif (2000) and Virat Kohli (2008).
Chand said it was the loss against West Indies early in the campaign Down Under that inspired the team to do well later on. “The best thing in the tournament was that we faltered and fumbled early and then peaked at the right time. We didn’t think about what was going on in India, and kept our eye on the target. The belief was really strong among the guys and we always felt that we would lift the trophy. It was this belief took us further in the tournament and helped us win,” said Chand.
A pre-tournament pep talk with Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar was significant too, said Chand. “We had a half an hour session with Tendulkar sir prior to our Australian tour. He gave us a lot of tips and his do’s and don’ts kept us going,” said Chand. u00a0
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