Auckland, Jan 22 (PTI) Senior opener Rohit Sharma on Wednesday hoped the Indian team retains the U-19 World Cup trophy having started its title defence in style.

Defending champions India are already through to the quarterfinals of the mega-event with convincing wins over Sri Lanka and Japan in their first two outings.

"Best wishes to the under-19 cricket team in South Africa. They are already off to a great start, hope they can defend the title and bring it back," Rohit tweeted after arriving here for a gruelling six-week tour of New Zealand.

Led by Priyam Garg, India qualified for the U-19 World Cup Super League quarter-finals after a 10-wicket victory over Japan in Bloemfontein on Tuesday.

The four-time champions will next take on New Zealand on Friday.

India won the last U-19 World Cup in 2018 under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw, who has already represented the senior team in Test cricket.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)