'I had given up hope of playing in the tournament' - Shaik Rasheed recounts his Covid-19 experience

Shaik Rasheed scored a superb half-century for the India U19 side in the summit clash of the competition and played a pivotal role in helping the Yash Dhull led outfit lift their 5th U19 World Cup title.

And now, Rasheed has stated that he never thought that he will play in the U19 World Cup after he was infected by Covid-19 during the tournament. Rasheed also added that when he was under quarantine, he thought it was the end of his journey in the competition.

“I never thought I had another chance in the tournament. I had given up hope of playing any more part in the tournament. Regular testing and 15-day quarantine and I thought the tournament has ended for me,” said Rasheed in a chat with Cricbuzz.

VVS Laxman sir and the coaching staff tried to instill a positive mindset: Shaik Rasheed

Shaik Rasheed also revealed that the Indian support staff kept the players motivated. Rasheed also added that the support staff would be in touch with the players through regular video calls.

“At that stage, the support staff has backed us well, kept us motivating. We were in isolation and they would do regular video-calling and try to explain us to treat this as a brief injury pause and not as a Covid disruption,” added Rasheed.

Adding that VVS Laxman told the players infected with Covid-19 that the tournament is not over for them, Rasheed concluded by stating that the support staff instilled a positive mindset into the players during the World Cup.

“Coaches and VVS Laxman Sir would be on the call and they would tell me there is lot more to play in the tournament – quarterfinals, semifinals, final and all those games. They tried to instill a positive mind-set,” concluded Shaik Rasheed.

In the 4 innings that he played in the U19 World Cup, Rasheed scored 201 runs at an average in excess of 50. He also scored a couple of fifties in the competition as well.