He played a match-winning knock in the U19 Asia Cup semi-final.
Star India Under-19 player, Vihaan Malhotra, is set to join the defending champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) camp following the ICC U19 World Cup 2026. But ahead of the mega ICC tournament, his coach has revealed the batter’s inspiration, whom he has looked up to since childhood.
His coach Ravneet Ricky, who was the leading run-getter of the inaugural Under-19 World Cup in 2000, had shared the dressing room with one of India’s greatest all-rounders, Yuvraj Singh. He stated that Vihaan, being a southpaw, was deeply inspired by the player and tried to emulate his gameplay.
Notably, RCB is one of the six franchises that Yuvraj represented in his 11-year-long IPL career. He put up 376 runs, including three half-centuries, and snared five wickets for the Bengaluru outfit in 14 fixtures of the IPL 2014.
“I was a batchmate of Yuvraj and played the 2000 U19 World Cup with him. Vihaan has always admired Yuvraj and wanted to play like him,” stressed Ricky to RevSportz.
However, the India U19’s No.3 batter will miss the three-match Youth ODI series against South Africa U19, preceding the World Cup, due to his ongoing recovery. But the coach is hopeful for a fit comeback of the vice-captain soon in the marquee 50-over event, starting on January 15.
“He is at the CoE for rehab, and I don’t see it as serious. Vihaan himself says he’s perfectly fine, so I believe he’ll recover fully,” he added.
ALSO READ:
The 19-year-old recently notched up an unbeaten, match-winning 61 runs to take India over the line in the U19 Asia Cup semi-final against Sri Lanka. His 165-run tally in the tournament included two fifty-plus scores. Previously, with 243 runs in five 50-over fixtures and 277 runs in two red-ball appearances, the batter displayed a sublime touch during their tour of England.
Vihaan also recorded 119 runs in the Australia YODIs, including 15 boundaries and a six across three matches, to become the fourth-highest run-scorer of the series. Looking ahead, their INR 30 lakh signing, who can also contribute as a right-arm offbreak option, could be a bright future prospect for the franchise ahead of IPL 2026.
For more updates, follow CricXtasy on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
