Indian skipper Virat Kohli is currently focussing on the important series across the other side of the globe but at the same time, he is the keeping track of the juniors at the U-19 World Cup in New Zealand. India Under 19 team is in the final of the tournament where they will face Australia on Saturday. Kohli led the India U-19 squad to win the title in 2008.

Virat also lauded the Prithvi Shaw’s way of captaining the team for being supremely confident in their approach. India is gunning for a fourth U-19 World Cup title and enter the final without losing a game in the tournament so far.

Also read: Prithvi Shaw to play for Mumbai in Vijay Hazare trophy

Ahead of the first ODI in Durban, Kohli said, “It feels amazing (to see them do well). I interacted with them before they left and it’s a lovely bunch of boys. Compared to our lot (when India won in 2008 under Kohli), the confidence levels are somewhere else which is a great sign. You’ll see many people making a strong statement for themselves much earlier than we all did. They’ve done amazingly well and the semifinal (against Pakistan) was an amazing game.”

Kohli further praised the team for playing an attacking brand of cricket against Pakistan in the semi-finals. Always a crucial fixture for an Indian team, whatever the sport, the U-19 team won by a huge 203-run margin to dismiss Pakistan for a meager total of 69.

The Indian skipper praised the performance of the Juniors in the semi-finals, he said, “Playing such a high-pressure game (against Pakistan), they really stood up and that’s what you want to see. You want to see people standing up when it’s needed the most. I want to wish them all the very best for the final. We’ll all be following very keenly and we’ll be eagerly waiting to see them lift the cup again. I believe they have the talent, and they believe in that much more than I do, which I think is very, very important.”