Shaik Rasheed, who was India's crisis man during the 2022 Under-19 World Cup, has said that his teammates are over the moon after winning the title and the victory was a tribute to the bonding among the players and the coaches.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The batter showed solid temperament and played vital innings for the Indian team in all three knockout games in the World Cup.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"We have just won the Under-19 World Cup and we are over the moon. The victory was a tribute to the bonding among the players and the coaches who ensured we stayed here (in the Caribbean) like a family. My future... I will take it the way it comes. I need to improve my game and I will work on it," Rasheed told Cricbuzz.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rasheed hit a 26 in a low-scoring but high-intensity chase in the quarter-final against Bangladesh and anchored the innings with a well-paced 94 in the semi-final against Australia and then set the match up with a solid 50 in the final against England. All three knocks came after the early loss of wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Asked to explain those innings in the knockouts, the Andhra boy said he tried to play his natural game.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"Initially there was pressure but I tried to play my natural game. I am confident of my game and I played that way. Although there was not much practice before the knockouts (because of the Covid-induced isolation), we were confident. I had scored an unbeaten 72 in a practice game against Australia and that gave me a lot of confidence," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Rasheed also recalled the tough time when he tested positive for Covid-19 during the tournament. He thanked the support staff for motivating the players during that tough phase.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"I never thought I had another chance in the tournament. I had given up hope of playing any more part in the tournament. Regular testing and 15-day quarantine and I thought the tournament has ended for me," the batter said while recalling the time when the Indian camp was hit by Covid-19 with half a dozen players, including himself, being forced into isolation.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
"At that stage, the support staff backed us well, kept us motivated. We were in isolation and they would do regular video-calling and try to explain to us to treat this as a brief injury pause and not as a Covid disruption. Coaches and VVS Laxman Sir would be on the call and they would tell me there is a lot more to play in the tournament - quarterfinals, semi-finals, final, and all those games. They tried to instill a positive mindset," he added.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Since the four-wicket win in the final, the youngster has got lots of calls and messages. "We have had a party. We celebrated the win, stayed together. The bonding is very good. And, yes I have not had time to answer all my calls and messages. I will respond to them all soon," he said.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Many of Rasheed's teammates have registered for the IPL auction but he would not be one to go under the hammer as he has not played a List A or a first-class game, which is a necessity to be eligible to feature in the IPL. However, he is not disappointed.<\/p>\r\n\r\n