U19 World Cup winning captain Yash Dhull wants to play for Team India within the next 18 months

Yash Dhull has become the latest cricketing sensation in India after guiding the U19 team to victory in the recently held World Cup in the Caribbean. Dhull’s temperament and class with the bat exudes plenty of promise but cricket is a sport of extreme highs and lows and nothing can be written down with certainty.

While he has been surrounded by the media and well-wishers following the recent successes, the 19-year-old has a razor-sharp focus on the important things in life: cricket. He immediately flew to Guwahati to prepare for the Ranji Trophy where he will be representing Delhi next week.

“I have hardly slept the last few days but it is not something I can complain about. What I have done till now is done, I need to focus on what lies in the immediate future,” Dhull told PTI referring to his Ranji Trophy call-up.

Besides the immediate future, the youngster has already chalked a plan for himself and believes he has what it takes to play cricket at the highest level and represent his country. The most impressive part is that he has set an 18-month timeline for himself in order to achieve that goal. “That is my target but If I am not able to do that in the 18-month time frame, I will keep working hard till I attain my goal,” said the soft-spoken cricketer.

With such early highs and lofty goals, comparisons are bound to follow. Yash Dhull is the second captain from Delhi to lift the U19 World Cup Trophy for India. The previous two – Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand – had polar opposite careers despite plenty of promise.

While Kohli has established himself as one of the greats of the game and led India with distinction over the last few years, Chand didn’t take long to disappear into oblivion and is now plying his trade in USA and Australia.

Yash Dhull, however, wants to keep his feet on the ground and be realistic and humble when it comes to his career. “The names you have taken (Kohli and Chand), I am not thinking on those lines. I want to remain humble and not think about the future too much.

“Virat bhai shared his experience with me on what happened with him post the U19 World Cup (in 2008).

“I got to know a lot from approaching my career from here on, the chat with him has helped me understand things I need to focus on going forward and things I need to avoid,” he said referring to the conversation with Kohli on the eve of the World Cup final on Saturday.