World Test Championship: Virat Kohli to Kane Williamson, player from U19 squad in final WTC clash
As the World Test Championship (WTC) final is nearing, a look at some players who have faced each other since their U19 days.
The Indian men's team along with the women's cricket squad arrived in London on Thursday. The two teams straightaway travelled to Southampton where they will be based for a week and will undergo a mandatory 5-day quarantine before they go out and train.
While the men's team will remain in Southampton for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against New Zealand, the women's team will travel to Bristol where they will play the one-off Test against England starting June 16.
So as Indian skipper Virat Kohli is all set to battle it out in the final against Kiwi captain Kane Williamson, a look at some players who have faced each other since their U19 days.
The two have known each other since their U19 days as the duo led their respective sides in the 2008 ICC U19 World Cup in Malaysia. The tournament was won by India who defeated Williamson’s Black Caps in the semifinal.
Team India skipper Virat Kohli during an Instagram live session with Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was questioned about his transition from captaining Under-19 India to becoming the Indian captain.
"I was someone who always liked taking responsibility. Then Under-19 happened and not many people know that I became captain of the Under-19 team one tour before the World Cup. We went to South Africa. That's when I became the captain and then I was given the captaincy of the Under-19 World Cup, which we won," said Kohli.
"But before that, I used to captain my club team, state teams and I used to like the responsibility. I have captained Ranji in a season with all the seniors around. I think some things are destined to be," he added.
"Becoming captain of India was not even in my wildest dream, to be honest," Kohli further stated.
When Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson was asked how it felt to play against Kohli again after U19 he said, "Yes, we are fortunate to play against each other. It has been great to meet at a young age and follow his progress as well as his journey,"
Williamson had told on Star Sports show Cricket Connected, "It's been interesting, we’ve had to play against each other for a long period of time".
Williamson also said he and Kohli have shared honest opinions about the game. "But actually, probably over the last few years we just shared our views on the game, some honest thoughts and found some common grounds despite, perhaps, playing the game a little bit differently in terms of physically and maybe our on-field characters I suppose," added Williamson.
Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja was part of the Indian U19 cricket team under the captaincy of Kohli. He was India's joint-highest wicket taker with 10 wickets.
Jadeja played his second World Cup and picked two key wickets in the final. The southpaw is now a constant in all formats of the game.
Trent Boult was representing the country in the Under19 World Cup. He picked up 7 wickets against Malaysia where he bundled up the entire team for just 47 inside 19 overs.
Boult was awarded the MOM award for his fierce performance. Boult kept on being an integral part of the team for the entire U-19 World Cup.
Boult picked up wickets at crucial moments and thus he was the reason for New Zealand's success in the U19 World Cup 2008.
Tim Southee was player of the tournament at the U19 Cricket World Cup in 2008, before making his debut for the BLACKCAPS a few months later.
He was one of New Zealand's youngest cricketers, debuting at the age of 19 in February 2008.
He was the third-highest wicket-taker at the 2011 ICC World Cup (18 wickets at 17.33) and also impressed at the 2015 ICC World Cup, taking 7 wickets in a round-robin league match against England.