Abhigyan Kundu geared up to sparkle for India U-19

Wicketkeeper-batsman Abhigyan Kundu

Mumbai wicketkeeper-batsman Abhigyan Kundu, 17, who earned his maiden India U-19 call-up for the upcoming multi-format series against Australia U-19, wants to develop the qualities of batting icon Sachin Tendulkar, West Indian legend Brian Lara and other greats like Virender Sehwag and ex-India skipper MS Dhoni.

Kundu was drafted into both India U-19 squads - one-day and four-day - which will be led by Uttar Pradesh's Mohammed Amaan and Madhya Pradesh's Soham Patwardhan respectively. The three-match one-day series will be held in Puducherry on September 21, 23 and 26, while two four-day games will be held on September 30 and October 7 in Chennai.

"I will give my best against the Australia U-19 team. I just need to back my ability," Kundu told mid-day.com from Ahmedabad, where he is playing for Mumbai in the U-19 Reliance Cup.

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The left-hander wants to perform against Australia U-19 and cement his place in the U-19 Asia Cup team in December.

"I want to build my attitude like Tendulkar and bat like Sehwag and Lara while in 'keeping, I want to be like Dhoni. I aim to become a cool captain like him. Even in difficult situations he never gets disturbed and handles things easily, so I want to learn those things," remarked Kundu, who was the Mumbai U-19 team's vice-captain when they emerged runners-up in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy and Cooch Behar Trophy last season.

Kundu has attended National Cricket Academy's (NCA) high performance camps and played practice matches in Bangalore, Mohali and Ahmedabad. "I was expecting to be selected in the India U-19 team because I performed very well in the inter-NCA tournament where I played two games and scored 60 and 88 in Bangalore and then during the 35-day NCA high performance camp in June at Mohali, I scored 140 and 40 in two matches.

"I got extra confidence and an extra opportunity to justify my ability because of these camps.

It helped me believe that I can do better at a higher level," he said.