U-19 World Cup is the first stage of greatness for any cricketer in the world. The International Cricket Council organizes the U-19 mega event once in every two years. As the name of the competition suggests, only the cricketers, who are aged below 19 can play in that tournament.
Once the players graduate from the U-19 level, the next top competition for them is the ODI World Cup. Interestingly though, there have been a few players who played for one nation in the U-19 World Cup and represented another team in the senior ODI World Cup. Here are four such players.
1. Sybrand Engelbrecht played for South Africa in U-19 World Cup
Sybrand Engelbrecht impressed the fans by playing an inning of 45 runs in the Netherlands vs India match at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium. Engelbrecht is from South Africa, and he represented South Africa U-19s in U-19 World Cup 2008, where they lost to India U-19s in the final.
2. Imran Tahir
Veteran South African leg-spinner Imran Tahir has made a name for himself with his incredible performances in the white-ball formats. Tahir played for South Africa in the 2011 World Cup. At the U-19 level, he played for Pakistan U-19s in the 1998 U-19 WC.
3. Colin de Grandhomme played for Zimbabwe in U-19 World Cup 2004
Colin de Grandhomme was a part of the Zimbabwean U-19 squad in the 2004 edition of the U-19 WC. Two years later, he moved to New Zealand. He represented the Blackcaps at the senior level and played for them in ODI World Cup.
4. Gary Ballance
Gary Ballance is another cricketer who played for Zimbabwe at the U-19 level and then moved to another nation. He played for Zimbabwe U-19s in U-19 WC 2006. Nine years later, he played for England in the 2015 World Cup. He returned to Zimbabwe recently and retired.
