U19 World Cup: Virat Kohli interacts with India players ahead of final vs England

Former India captain Virat Kohli had a virtual interaction with young India cricketers who are part of the India team at the U19 World Cup on Thursday, February 3. Kohli’s interaction comes two days ahead of India’s U19 World Cup final against England in the West Indies.

India U19 off-spinner Kaushal Tambe took to social media to share a screengrab of their virtual interaction with Virat Kohli, saying that the batting great offered them some valuable tips ahead of the big final.

“Some valuable tips from the GOAT ahead of the finals,” Tambe wrote in his story on Instagram.

All-rounder Rajvardhan Hangargekar, who has made a mark in the U19 World Cup campaign, also shared a screengrab of Virat Kohli interacting with the teenage cricketers.

“It was really good to interact with you @virat.kohli bhaiyaa. Learnt some important things about life and cricket from you which will help us in getting better in upcoming times,” Hangargekar wrote in his post.

Screengrab from Kaushal Tambe Instagram

Screengrab from Rajvardhan Hangargekar Instagram

Virat Kohli had led India to U19 World Cup title in 2008. The team led by the former India captain defeated South Africa in the final to clinch the trophy.

The former skipper is currently in Ahmedabad training for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against the West Indies from February 6.

India, led this time by Yash Dhull, reached the final after some impressive performances despite Covid-19 concerns in the camp in the West Indies. Dhull, who recovered from Covid-19, hit a match-winning hundred against Australia in the semi-final on Wednesday.

Dhull and vice-captain Shaik Rasheed (94) helped India post 290 after which the Australia U19 team was bundled out for 194 in less than 42 overs. India will take on England U19 in the final.

Notably, India U19 team players had an interaction with India’s limited-overs captain Rohit Sharma before they left for the West Indies. The teenage cricketers were training at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru where Rohit was recovering from his hamstring injury.