[Watch] "All of you look very sad" - VVS Laxman visits Uganda U-19 team's dressing room after their defeat to India U-19
India U-19 head coach VVS Laxman visited the dressing room of Uganda U-19 following his side's 326-run win in their 2022 U-19 World Cup clash on Saturday.
In a video shared by the International Cricket Council (ICC), the former cricketer can be seen offering extensive advice to young Ugandans. Noticing their dejected looks, Laxman said instead of focussing on the results, they should focus on their processes and whether they executed their plans during the game or not.
You can watch the video here:
Laxman said:
"All of you look very sad. Every time you play a match, you want to win but I think the important thing for all of you is to accept that this is a learning process and each and every game for you is a way to improve. At the end of the match, you should not be thinking about the result, you should be thinking, 'Did we execute our processes? Did we execute the plans which [we] have?'"
He added:
"At the end of the match, instead of feeling sad, it's important for you to go back and think as a bowler, as a batsman, as a team, what were the goals we had, what were the gameplan we had for each and every batsman and if we executed it. And as long as you've executed it, results should not matter. But if you feel you haven't executed the plans then there's definitely something which you require to work on, improve on."
This is only the third time that Uganda has qualified for the U-19 World Cup, and the first time in the last 16 years.
Laxman also lauded the team's coherence, bonding and fielding skills, saying looking at the positives is the only way to improve. He concluded by commending the team for qualifying for the tournament and asking them to keep their minds open to learn from all the exposure they get in this tournament.
VVS Laxman's India U-19 to play against Bangladesh U-19 next
Indian Legend @VVSLaxman281 visited our camp yesterday after the game and gave some advise to the boys after our game aganist India U-19. Thank you Laxman Bhai.
#Cheer4BabyCricketCranes https://t.co/o35UV3x5TD
India U-19 ended the group stage with three wins from as many games, comprehensively defeating teams from South Africa, Ireland and Uganda.
They'll now play against defending champions Bangladesh in the second quarter-final on January 29 in Antigua and attempt to avenge the defeat of the 2020 final.