Bishundial reflects on disappointing U-19 championship

Guyana’s Under-19 Head Coach Kumar Bishundial has described his team’s campaign at the Cricket West Indies (CWI) Rising Stars Men’s Under-19 50-Over Championship as “really disappointing”, pointing to the batting unit’s inability to adapt to match situations as the main reason for their struggles.
Despite entering the tournament with a talented squad, Guyana endured an inconsistent campaign that saw the team suffer a heavy defeat to the Windward Islands in their final preliminary-round encounter.
“The performance has been really disappointing from such a talented bunch of guys. We had some good ones in patches and some where we really fell away badly. Our batters have let us down badly by not adapting to the situations at hand, hence what is seen in the results,” Bishundial said.

While frustrated with the team’s overall performances, the Coach acknowledged that several players produced encouraging individual displays throughout the tournament.
He reserved praise for Captain Parmeshwar Ram, who led by example with both bat and ball.
“Skipper Ram showed good maturity with both bat and ball,” the Head Coach noted, highlighting the Captain’s leadership and consistency.
The Coach also commended Adrian Hetmyer, who enjoyed one of his most productive seasons, con-tributing valuable half-centuries while also making an impact with the ball.
“Hetmyer has had a couple of fifties and bowled well thus far. It’s his most productive year,” he said.
Among the bowlers, Bishundial singled out Gilbert Griffith for special praise, describing the young pacer as one of Guyana’s standout performers.
“Young Gilbert Griffith has been excellent with the ball and has shown good control,” the Coach re-marked.
He also praised Dhanesh Persaud for his all-round contribution, highlighting both his bowling and athleticism in the field.
“Dhanesh Persaud has been good with the ball and also electric in the field,” Bishundial added.
Romario Ramdeholl also earned favourable reviews after displaying discipline and control with the ball throughout the competition.
The Coach further revealed that Guyana suffered a significant setback when all-rounder Shamar Apple was ruled out through injury after showing promising form early in the tournament.
“Shamar Apple looked good and in form until he was injured. It was a big blow for us also,” Bishundial related.
Although the campaign has been disappointing, Bishundial believes the tournament has identified several players with the potential to develop into future senior representatives, provided they continue to improve and learn from the experience.