Coach Kanitkar all praise for colts side
Mumbai, Jan. 3: Head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has said the Indian team’s triumph in the U-19 Asia Cup is a step in right direction with not just one but many players excelling before the ICC World Cup begins in the West Indies later this month.
India reaffirmed their supremacy in the tournament with a record eighth title as they hammered Sri Lanka by nine wickets in a rain-hit summit showdown in Dubai on Friday.
“I think it’s a step in the right direction. What I felt is, like you said, quite a number of people performed and we won games,” Kanitkar said over phone from Dubai after the India Colts won the tournament.
India’s only loss in the competition came against arch-rivals Pakistan who lost to Sri Lanka in the semifinals. “We didn’t have to depend on certain players only and from the coaching point of view, that’s always a good sign, when more people contribute to a win and we don’t depend on just a few players.
“So, from that point I’m satisfied (and) it’s been very good high-level matches also, and we have been challenged in three out of four games or five
games. It’s been so far great preparation in terms of match practise, now the big goal is the World Cup,” Kanitkar, who has played 2 Tests and 34 ODIs, added.
The India team will now head to the West Indies for the World Cup, which is to be played from January 14 to February 5, and according to Kanitkar, who has 10,400 runs from 146 firstclass matches, the Yash Dhull-led team is taking one step at a time.
“We are planning to take one step at a time, not (think) too far ahead into the future, so once the quarantine is over in the West Indies, we will start practicing and focus on the practise games first and take it forward like that,” said Kanitkar. —