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India in with a great chance to win ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 after going unbeaten in tri-series

Washington Sundar finished as the leading run-scorer for India in the tri-series.

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Ricky Bhui is most likely to lead into the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 © Getty Images
Ricky Bhui is most likely to lead into the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 © Getty Images

India Under-19 will go into the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2016 full of confidence as they have brushed past Sri Lanka Under-19 and England Under-19 in a tri-series without losing a single game. The Ricky Bhui-led side is immensely talented and in the course of the tournament have proved that they have a good bench strength as well. Rahul Dravid’s influence too seems to have had a positive impact on these youngsters and India U-19 hold a great chance of winning their third World Cup title, which begins on January 27 in Bangladesh. They have the momentum going into the tournament and it would be safe to say that the future of Indian cricket is bright. Full Cricket Updates : India U19 vs Sri Lanka U19 2015-16, Final at Colombo

Playing in Sri Lanka was perhaps a good dress rehearsal ahead of the World Cup. The conditions will be similar and having already taken the psychological edge by beating two competitors in the tri-series, they will go into the mega event full of confidence. India last won the Under-19 World Cup in 2012 in Australia. Many talented players like Unmukt Chand, Baba Aparajit, Sandeep Sharma and Harmeet Singh emerged out of the tournament. READ: Rahul Dravid: India U-19 World Cup team close to being identified

Current Indian Test skipper Virat Kohli led India U-19 to a World Cup triumph in 2008, which included players like Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary and Manish Pandey, who are currently part of the India senior side’s setup. Yuvraj Singh also won the tournament in 2000 and he is currently one of the most captivating limited-overs cricketer India has ever produced.

Coming back to the current lot of players, they are not short of talent. Washington Sundar finished as the leading run-scorer for India in the tri-series. He scored three fifties in four innings at 52 with a highest score of 77. Even in the bowling department Khaleel Ahmed, who finished on top of the charts with seven scalps in just two games with, which includes 3 for 29 in the final, showed promise. The good thing about the series was that the batsmen always backed their bowlers efforts and vice-versa. READ: India U-19 beat Sri Lanka U-19 in tri-series final to win series

Amandeep Khare was the only one to score a century in the series, who generally bats at no. 5 or 6. Above him are Sarfaraz Khan with Rishabh Pant and Sundar opening the innings. There are some excellent fast bowlers among their ranks as well. Avesh Khan, who made his First-Class debut this season for Madhya Pradesh, wrecked havoc even in the previous home tri-series against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. In the spin department Mayank Dagar with his slow left-arm snapped seven wickets.

India certainly have the depth with bat and ball to get the job done. Dravid before the tournament indicated that this may not be the team that eventually plays in the World Cup, but with the kind  of performances they have produced it will be very similar to this. One can expect a few of these players to the senior side in the next four to five years. READ: Sarfaraz Khan: Getting coached by Rahul Dravid is a dream come true

(Pramod Ananth is a reporter at CricketCountry. He has represented Karnataka table tennis under-15, and is a hardcore supporter of Liverpool FC. His Twitter handle is @pramz)

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