It was a sheer moment of pride for every India when Yash Dhull-men brought Under-19 World Cup glory home. India scripted history in Antigua by defeating England by four wickets in the summit of clash of the marqee tournament to bag their fifth World Cup title. By all means, the victory was special because Indian colts defied all the odds to earn glory. When several players were found Covid positive in the middle of the tournament and their chips were down, the undeterred India showed the champions attitude and overcame every challenge that came their way.
However, in an exclusive interview with Sports Tak, India's Under-19 team manager Lobzang G Tenzing shared an untoward experience they had to undergo when we were busy cheering the team. In a big revelation, he said that seven Under-19 Indian players were stopped at the airport in Port of Spain. The situation got escalated to an extent that arrangements were being made to send the Indian team back to India.
When seven players were asked to return to India
The team manager told that, India's Under-19 World Cup team had to face difficulties when the tournament was due to get started. Some players of the team were being sent back due to non-vaccination. Actually, people below the age of 18 years were already vaccinated in Caribbea while in India it did not happen till January 3 and was illegal too. Owing to this, the officials said that all the players of the Indian team who are below 18 years of age should get the vaccine or should be sent back.
"We tried to explain them that it is illegal in India and all the players have left the country on December 20 itself, so it was practically impossible. Post which the Port of Spain officials told us," you people will have to go back to India and we will not give you entry," Lobzang said.
Players had to go through a lot
The manager further said, “Our players went through a lot of problems after the incident. But I did my duty as a manager. We were at the airport's detention centre during that time and were repeatedly talking to the airport authorities on this matter. We told them that our flight has gone and if you wanted to send us back to India, then you should have sent us in the same flight. After that I knew that the next flight is after three days and we can definitely do something in that time. Thankfully, the BCCI, ICC and the Government of India looked into the matter and provided a resolution in the very next morning.”
Team India's manager said that there were a total of seven players in Port of Spain who were under the age of 18 and were asked to return. The names of the players were Ravi, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, Siddharth Yadav, Aaradhya Yadav and the rest of the players. Ravi Bishnoi was also not fully vaccinated as he had only single dose of vaccination. All this happened during January 3 when the tournament had not even started.
The manager further said that, a chartered flight was arranged for us to go to Guyana, but the next morning as soon as everything went well, we left for Guyana. This experience was pathetic for us because during that time because amid Covid-19 scare and all the players were upset. The ICC had to plan differently here.
"See, it was very difficult for us when the players were found to be Covid-19 positive. But the way the boys showed their winning spirit was commendable. I told BCCI that this win is more special than rest. It was quite challenging for everyone.
Regarding the facilities, the manager said, "we were not happy with the facilities there. You get good facilities when there is a Covid-19 in India, BCCI takes care of everything as far as staging a tournament is concerned but here we had a lot of problems. In a 5-star hotel here, you are looked after like a king, but there we were being kept on the side like we don't even exist," the team manager said.
"Look, the Indians living there helped us a lot. We were eating Indian food there and people were also helping us a lot. I have given my report regarding the untoward experience we had to undergo there and there are few things things which I cannot even share," he added.
