Bangalore: Former champions India are upbeat about regaining the title at the under-19 World Cup, to be played in Kuala Lumpur from February 17.

“We are prepared to put up a brave fight and confident of regaining the World Cup,” captain Virat Kohli said as the team wound up its seven-day conditioning camp at the National Cricket Academy.

He said the team was expecting a strong challenge from arch-rivals Pakistan. “We have successfully played against South Africa, New Zealand and England, but Pakistan is the team that needs to be watched,” he said.

Newly appointed coach Dav Whatmore, on his first assignment, said the boys’ response during the camp was very good and described the team as “a well-balanced side”.

India won the U-19 World Cup in 2000 in Sri Lanka under the captaincy of Mohammed Kaif. They open their campaign PNG on February 17.

THE SQUAD — Virat Kohli (captain), Abhinav Mukund, Ajitesh Argal, Sreevats Goswami, Tanmay Srivastava, Manish Pandey, Taruwar Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Duvvarapu Siva Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Siddharth Kaul, Einstein Napolean, Perry Goyal, Sayeed Abdullah Iqbal.