‘Relieves the pressure’: Lakshya Raichandani on Aaryavir Sehwag’s influence in India’s Asia Cup triumph

Indian Under-19 Team (Image Credit: BCCI) NEW DELHI: Crediting the attacking batting of Aaryavir Sehwag for making life easier for his teammates, India Under-19 captain Lakshya Raichandani said the pacer’s ability to put the opposition under pressure takes the burden off the batsman at the other end.Aaryavir was one of the standout players in India’s Under-19 Asia Cup title campaign, finishing as the tournament’s top scorer with 361 runs in five innings. His consistent performances also earned him the player of the tournament award.Lauding the opener’s contribution, Raichandani described him as a great batter and a wonderful person while explaining how his approach changes the dynamics of an innings.“Yes, he is a really good batsman (Aaryavir) and a wonderful human being. When he bats, it fires the batsmen at the other end because of the way he bowls. It also makes the track batting easier because he puts pressure on the opposition bowlers and forces them to release that pressure by offering free deliveries to the other batsman,” Raichandani said.

‘We never stopped believing’: India bounces back from Pakistan

India’s victory was particularly special as they overcame a group stage defeat to arch-rivals Pakistan before beating them by one wicket in Saturday’s final at Al Amerat in Oman.Raichandani reflected on his experience of leading the team to the title and said that the team understood each other very well during the campaign.“It’s been a pretty good experience. We’ve had a really good relationship and overall it’s been a great experience. I’m proud of the guys and it’s a great honor to lead this team,” he said.The skipper also explained the team’s straightforward batting approach and stressed the importance of making the most of the power play and having at least one set batsman stay till the end.“My approach was simple. If one batsman gets to one end and takes the innings deep, the chase is much easier. Our approach was straightforward and a good start to the power play was important.”“Hopefully we managed to secure that start and the plan after that was to have one of the set batsmen stay till the end,” the skipper said.Raichandani admitted that the group stage loss to Pakistan provided an important lesson, but insisted that the team’s faith in his approach never wavered.“In the first game, our plan was quite simple. After the loss, we realized the areas where we could improve and where we could be better. That was one important insight. But overall, our plan remained the same and we believed in our approach,” he said.“We never stopped believing. We were quite optimistic and believed in the team until the very end.”