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The Under-19 World Cup triumph in Australia has a Hyderabad connection. Hanuma Vihari, the middle-order batsman and Ramakrishnan Sridhar, assistant coach, both from the city, played their part in scripting the glorious and thrilling victory Down Under.
Speaking from Townsville in Australia, Sridhar, a former Ranji left-arm spinner, gave full credit to the young boys for bringing India the third U-19 World Cup.
“They worked very hard. Our road to the World Cup started 18 months ago. We set out with the belief that we can win it. We have made a lot of sacrifices along the way. We are all the more happy that India has won both the senior and junior World Cups simultaneously. It is a wonderful feeling. We did a lot of motivational talk and there was perfect bonhomie in the team,” he said.
Sridhar, who is also a fielding coach at the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore, has earned a reputation for himself as an expert.
“The game has changed. It has become fast particularly after the advent of the Twenty20 format. More and more teams are laying emphasis on fielding. Keeping this in mind, we focused on fielding in the last few years. It has paid off as our fielding was exceptional in this tournament,” he explained.
According to him, the team came up with a new phrase ahead of the tournament: Nothing matters except the trophy.
“That really helped the team and we showed our ability to fight back in tight matches like against Pakistan in the quarter-final,” said Sridhar.
The State Bank of Hyderabad officer, who also imparts training at St John’s Coaching Foundation here, was all praise for the Indian colts skipper Unmukt Chand who according to him was following in the footsteps of Virat Kohli. Incidentally, Kohli captained the U-19 team that won the World Cup in Malaysia two years back.
“He is a class act. He led from the front. He is a solid and matured batsman. He is the future hope for India. He is what Virat Kohli was two years ago,” he pointed out.
Sridhar had some kind words for Harmeet Singh and all-rounder Aparajith. “Harmeet has been the discovery while Aparajith turned out to be Mr Dependable of the team. Pace bowlers Sandeep Sharma, Passi and Ravikanth Singh too made a good impression,” he said,
Although he was disappointed with local lad Vihari’s performance, Sridhar said he will come back strongly. “He has learnt his lessons. He is sure to make a comeback,” signed off Sridhar.
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