India captain Priyam Garg feels there is no pressure in captaining the side in the ICC U-19 World Cup as he looked to become the fifth Indian captain to lift the title.
“There’s no pressure for me,” Priyam Garg told reporters in Bengaluru. “I am seeing it only as an opportunity to captain a team in such a big tournament. We’ve played so many events, so that’s an advantage for us. As a captain, all I’m thinking about is how to take my team forward; how to navigate the team out of difficult situations.”
He added that he had talked to Prithvi Shaw, who led India in the U-19 World Cup in 2018 for tips on how to deal with the upcoming challenge.
“Although I haven’t spoken to Virat (Kohli) sir yet, I have spoken to Prithvi sir a lot. He told me ‘your planning, your process and your team-bonding is most important’. The more the team will feel a sense of togetherness, the better will they perform,”said Garg.
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“Prithvi sir also told me that the team should know what their strengths are. He said that team-bonding played a big role in India’s success in 2018. And he told me the importance of bringing the best out of the players,” he added.
Coach Paras Mhambrey also said that he is happy with the preparation being done ahead of the tournament.
“We had a good couple of days, some good net sessions at Alur. One of the requirements at Alur was to prepare helpful wickets. We had three practice sessions, played on seamer-friendly or bowler-friendly conditions. So, we’ve done those to the best of our abilities,” Mhambrey said.
“The good thing is that we’re a very balanced side. (We have) seaming all-rounders, spinning all-rounders, quality fast bowlers and batsmen as well. So, those games in South Africa give us an opportunity to experiment and try a few combinations. In case we face such conditions, then we know the right steps,”he shared.
“We’ve been preparing for the conditions we can expect there. But you also have to be flexible. You go in with one kind of mindset, but the conditions may not turn out that way. Teams that are flexible will always do well. We’re looking at doing that too. We’ve spoken about it and we’re lucky to have a balanced 15,” he concluded.
