"I'm sure there will be a couple"- Head coach on whether some youngsters can make it to the Indian team after U19 World Cup 2024 performance

Former cricketer and current Indian U19 team head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar has full faith that at least two among the squad that featured in the U19 World Cup 2024 will do well in the IPL and the senior Indian team.

Uday Saharan and Co. faltered in the final against Australia, losing the game by 79 runs and missing out on a staggering sixth U19 World Cup title. However, Kanitkar is delighted with the way several players raised their game under pressure throughout the tournament.

Kanitkar told reporters in the post-match press conference:

"Definitely (the future of India is very bright). 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."

He added:

"Everytime 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."

Uday Saharan scored 397 runs in the tournament, the most by any player. Saumy Pandey was the highest wicket-taker for India with 18 scalps, just behind South Africa's Kwena Maphaka (21) on the leaderboard.

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Hrishikesh Kanitkar on U19 World Cup helping young Indian players

Hrishikesh Kanitkar also believes that facing crunch situations at the U19 World Cup level will only help them in the long run.

On this, he added:

"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."

India had also lost the final of the previous U19 World Cup held in South Africa back in 2020 against Bangladesh. That batch gave the Men in Blue talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, and Ravi Bishnoi.