Wasim Jaffer: The surprise Indian hand behind Bangladesh U19s' World Cup success

The Bangladesh U19s team outclassed the Indian Colts on Sunday in the U19 World Cup final to script what is perhaps the underdog story of the year so far. Bangladesh lifted its first-ever World Cup when they successfully chased down India's total of 177. However, the Tigers' victory had an Indian hand to it ironically as domestic batting great Wasim Jaffer has revealed that he spent a lot of time with many of the 2020 U-19 World Cup winners by training them and giving them some valuable advice.

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India U19s vs Bangladesh U19s: Wasim Jaffer trained Akbar Ali's Bangladesh U19s

Wasim Jaffer, who served the Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Academy as the batting coach in 2019, talked to an Indian news outlet about the young Bangladesh team that stunned many on Sunday when they kept India from winning their fifth Under-19 World Cup. Jaffer mentioned how in his time with the Tigers, he had observed most of the players who were a part of the squad that lifted the World Cup. The Indian cricketer lauded Bangladesh U19s captain Akbar Ali for the leadership that he exhibited on Sunday and throughout the tournament.

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Jaffer further shared how Ali is not new to the role and has captained younger Bangladesh sides in the past as well. Among the players who trained under Jaffer, some players that the Indian batsmen mentioned were Akbar Ali, Shahadat Hossain and Prantik Nawrose Nabil. Jaffer was confident that these youngsters are taking Bangladesh cricket to the next level and will allow the country to develop its own identity.

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Bangladesh U19s upset India, lift U19 World Cup 2020

On Sunday, most fans were expecting India to lift yet another Under-19 World Cup but it was Bangladesh which ended up on top. The Tigers played superbly as both teams gave their best to the high-voltage encounter. A lot of words were exchanged between the players during the game and things got so heated that after the Bangladesh victory that some players even got involved in a brawl. During the match, Bangladesh had chosen to bowl first and after they got the wicket of batting prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal, India were left in shambles. Bangladesh ended up chasing India's 177 with ease. Captain Akbar Ali was the Man of the Match.

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