Rohit Sharma backs young team India to defend ICC U19 World Cup crown

Indian star opener Rohit Sharma showed full faith in the ability of India U19 side and wished them the very best for their title defense. India have won the ICC U19 World Cup four times, the latest being the last edition held in New Zealand where India beat Australia in the final and Rohit expects nothing different this time around.

"Best wishes to the under-19 cricket team in South Africa. They are already off to a great start, hope they can defend the title and bring it back," Rohit tweeted.

Best wishes to the under-19 cricket team in South Africa. They are already off to a great start, hope they can defend the title and bring it back.

— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) January 22, 2020

The last edition of the U19 World Cup unearthed stars like Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill who have already received call-ups to the Indian Test squad. This edition too has shown some potential world-class players of the future in the form of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Priyam Garg, etc.

Also see – ICC Under 19 world cup winners list

India beat Sri Lanka in their opening game by 90 runs. Then, they made an absolute mockery of Japan's batting line-up, bowling them out for just 41 and chasing down the target inside five overs.

Garg has led the Indian side extremely well as they won their first two games convincingly and have advanced to the quarterfinals of the tournament. India will now take on New Zealand in their next game on Friday.