India may have breezed their way through the group stage and into the quarter-finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup, but captain Vijay Zol insists much sterner tests are set to come.
As reigning champions and with an immensely talented squad at their disposal, India are understandably amongst the favourites to lift the trophy.
Their form in the group stages – where they beat arch-rivals Pakistan before thumping Scotland and Papua New Guinea – did little to dispel expectations, but Zol believes the real tournament starts now.
“We are loving the tag of defending champions, the other teams look up to us and so that puts us on a different level,” Zol told Sport360° at the India Club Dubai where a dinner party was held for the U-19 India squad by Kerala Overseas Cricketers (KOC).
“We have been performing well and now we are in the part of the tournament which we have waited for. Everyone seems to be in good spirits and are confident of doing well.
"But there are a lot of good teams left in the competition who are performing very well," Zol added. "A lot of individual players have produced impressive performances and teams have played well on the whole.
"For us, we do not rate the other teams in order of high or low. It is all about India; how well we perform every time we go out onto the field. We have set the bar high for ourselves already and I feel we are living up to it.”
Coach Bharat Arun agrees with his captain that the business end of the tournament begins on Saturday when they take on England in their quarter-final encounter at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
And Bharat warned his players that the matches will only get tougher from now until the end of their World Cup campaign.
“If you want to win the World Cup, there will always be a certain amount of pressure that you will have to take," the former India international told Sport360°. "You cannot run away from that pressure, you must conquer it.”
Despite Bharat's words of warning, he believes the U-19 World Cup will prove an invaluable experience for his players, regardless of the overall outcome of the touarnament.
“It has been great until now, we are right on track for where we wanted to be and we have every reason to be happy about it," he explained.
"This tournament is very important for young players like these. It gives them a lot of exposure playing against international teams in different conditions and this is very significant in helping a cricketer evolve and improve.”
For wicket-keeper Ankush Bains, the experience of playing in the World Cup is nothing short of a dream come true.
The 18-year-old from Hamirpur has hit form at the right time; cruising to a half-century against Papa New Giunea ahead of India's showdown with England.
And Bains insists he is loving every minute of being part of such a prestigoius event.
“This is the most important tournament for cricketers our age," he stated. "Since childhood, it is a dream to grow up and play for the U19 Indian cricket team so I am definitely living my dream right now.
"Wearing your country's shirt and representing them is always a great feeling."
While Bains is delighted to be part of India's campaign, the wicket-keeper refuses to look beyond England, adding: “We take one game at a time; match by match and prepare for it.
"We never underestimate or overestimate anyone and prepare equally for every game. The level of talent is massive here; there is a lot of competition."
