Virat Kohli knows exactly how it feels to be on top of the world when you have barely attained the age to have a driving license. Virat Kohli also knows how it feels when criticism flies thick and fast when one doesn't perform as per potential after a global trophy. And no one knows more than Virat Kohli how it feels to be a world beater at a level where it matters the most. So it was not just "good but a great morning" for the likes of Rajvardhan Hagargekars, Kaushal Tambes, Yash Dhulls connected on a zoom call from their respective hotel rooms in Antigua, they had one of their role models waiting to "congratulate them" and also speak to them about what it means to play an U-19 World Cup final.
"Some valuable tips from the GOAT before the final," wrote spinner Kaushal Tambe.
Their head coach Hrishikesh Kanitkar was also present listening intently to what one of world's greatest batters had to say.
One cam be rest assured it was more about the road ahead where a lot of them will fall by the wayside, some will remain confined to domestic level and only a select few with enormous talent and temperament will make the grade.
Kohli knows what are the perils of early stardom and how one can get his feet back to the ground. He has seen zenith and nadir and one can only hope this discussion will make these youngsters more rounded as sportsmen than they were before.