Yash Dhull has lost count of the number of flights he has taken in the past 48 hours. He had spent the previous day in Ahmedabad where the entire team was felicitated following a tiring journey in which the squad had to take as many as four flights to reach India from the Caribbean. Having lived out of suitcase for the past two months, which could potentially be life-changing, when Dhull finally met his parents, it was just a mere 30 minutes of reunion for the sleep-deprived captain of the World Cup winning India U-19 team.

Dhull arrived in Delhi early morning and went straight to his alma mater Bal Bhavan in West Delhi to meet the people who played a big role in him becoming the cricketer he has become.

Two hours later, he had a flight to catch and next destination was Guwahati, where he is set to make his Ranji debut for Delhi next week. So between the school visit and ride back to the airport, Dhull got just enough time to go home for a shower.

He has no time to rest as the real journey into the men’s world started with the flight that he took to Guwahati to join the Delhi Ranji Trophy squad.

Having hardly slept since lifting that trophy in Antigua last week, Dhull has no complaints though. He knows it is only the start of his life as a professional cricketer.

“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.

Most of the World Cup winning squad members won’t go on and play for India but Dhull showed in the Caribbean that he could move up the ladder and play at the highest level. He has set himself an 18-month target to play for India.

“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.

The 19-year-old is third captain from Delhi to win the title after Virat Kohli and Unmukt Chand, who both had contrasting career graphs post their exploits in the U-19 Word Cup. He is inspired by Kohli and his achievements but there is also the story of Chand, who succumbed to pressure of expectations he set with his performance in the 2012 edition.    Source: PTI