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[caption id="attachment_60481" align="aligncenter" width="580"] Virat Kohli with the ICC U19 World Cup. Image Source: twitter[/caption] Internet Desk: Virat Kohli, the current Indian cricket captain came into the limelight after his brilliant performance in the U-19 World Cup, while he was the skipper of the side in Malaysia 2008. Now after getting a lot of success in all the three formats of the game, he talked about the importance of the U-19 world cup. “The ICC U19 World Cup was a very important milestone in my career. It helped us get a good platform to build on and make our careers from thereon, so it holds a very importance place in my mind and heart. It’s very important to understand and respect the opportunity it provides you and as I said, for me, it holds a very special place in my heart. “I remember playing against Kane. He was someone who always stood out in the team; his batting ability was very different from the other players who were around. Steve (Smith) I did not quite play against at the U19 level, so I didn’t watch him bat, but he has come a long way in his career as well. It is good to know that so many people from that batch, not just three of us captaining our countries, but apart from that a lot of players have played for their respective countries.” Kohli said. According to the New Zealand captain Kane Williamson it’s the stepping stone to international cricket, “It is a great stepping stone. Playing international cricket within your age group allows players to see slightly higher standards, the best of the best from the under-19 perspective, so (it is) a great tournament to be involved in. “It is always fascinating as well that a number of guys you play against and play with, to see their progress. Often, when you meet players, you talk about the Under-19 World Cup. Each team had a few guys who are playing international cricket, which is good. “You don’t get many opportunities to play World Cups, obviously at the top level – it is once every four years, if you are fortunate enough to be involved. So the opportunity to play at the age-group level is a very exciting opportunity and one that should be enjoyed.” Captains like Brain Lara, Inzamam-ul-Haq and Sanath Jayasuriya was the star in the first edition in 1998. Later Michael Clarke (Australia), Michael Atherton (England), Virender Sehwag (India), Brendan McCullum (New Zealand), Inzamam-ul-Haq (Pakistan), Angelo Mathews (Sri Lanka), Graeme Smith (South Africa), Chris Gayle (Windies) and Tatenda Taibu (Zimbabwe) are among the leading players to come through the U19 CWC system.