India U19 coach believes few U19 World Cup 2024 players will get into IPL or Indian team

Although India U19 team could not clinch the title in the Under19 World Cup 2024, they gave a marvelous performance by finishing as runners-up. India U19 Head Coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar believes that a few players from the team will get contracts in IPL or make it into the Indian team in the future.

India U19 team reached the final of the Under-19 World Cup 2024. However, they lost to the Australia U-19 team in the final by 74 runs. The junior Indian team failed to chase down a 254-run target in the match after a top-order collapse.

Opting to bat first, the Australia U-19 team piled up 253-7 in 50 overs. Indian bowlers Raj Limbani (3 wickets) and Naman Tiwari (2) bowled quite well to restrict the opposition under a chaseable total.

However, the batters completely lost the plot during the chase. India U19 team witnessed a top-order collapse as five key batters got out for single digits. Reaching 91-6 in about 25 overs, India remained far away from victory. Crawling their way till the 44th over, they were bundled out for 174.

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There are a couple of guys who step up either in  IPL or the Indian team: India U19 Team Coach

While speaking in the post-match press conference, India U19 Head Coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar praised his players for their impressive show in the tournament. He also added that a couple of them would make it into the IPL or Indian team.

“Every time there are a couple of guys who step up either in the IPL or the Indian team. I’m sure there will be a couple, but there is great competition back home”, PTI quoted Hrishikesh Kanitkar as saying.

Kanitkar also hailed some players who impressed with their bowling and batting performances.

“As a bowling side and as a batting side, there have been stand out performances by quite a few players. They have shown maturity in tough situations and that bodes well for Indian cricket,” Kanitkar added.

Also Read: Unmukt Chand reacts to India’s loss in the ICC Under 19 World Cup Final 2024 vs Australia

Kanitkar also feels that the players will be under the scanner after their good show in the Under 19 World Cup 2024.

“For the players’ great journey, everything is highlighted, these performances matter, they are under the scanner. They get used to these situations. They know what to expect and are prepared when they play higher cricket,” the 49-year-old further added.

Also Read: Aakash Chopra names two India U19 players who impressed him during U19 World Cup 2024

Uday Saharan finished as the leading run-getter in U19 World Cup 2024

Notably, there were a few stand-out players for the India U19 team. For instance, skipper Uday Saharan finished as the leading run-getter in the tournament with 397 runs in 7 games averaging 56+. Musheer Khan slammed 360 runs in 7 games and ended as the second-highest run-getter. He also hunted 7 wickets while bowling.

Sachin Dhas, who slammed 303 runs averaging 60.60 in the middle-order, was another brilliant India U19 batter to watch out for. Left-arm spinner Saumy Pandey stole 18 wickets to finish as the second-highest wicket-taker in the tournament. Naman Tiwari hunted 12 scalps across 6 encounters.