The ICC U-19 World Cup is the biggest platform for the teenage cricketers to showcase their talent and announce their arrival in the cricket world. Many great cricketers like Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Ben Stokes, Kane Williamson, and several others used this stage to get a headstart to their international cricket careers.
The popularity of the U-19 World Cup has increased significantly since 2008 after Virat Kohli led the Indian U-19 team to a title triumph in Malaysia. While most of the fans know about the players who represented India in that competition, in this article, we will look at the list of Indian stars you might not know played U-19 World Cup together.
1998 – Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, and Mohammad Kaif
Two members of India’s two World Cup winning teams, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh were also a part of the U-19 World Cup that happened in 1998.
South Africa hosted that competition and former Indian batsman Mohammad Kaif was also a part of the squad that featured the likes of Laxmi Ratan Shukla and Reetinder Sodhi too.
2000- Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, and Ajay Ratra
Yuvraj Singh shot to fame after his explosive performances for the Indian team in the U-19 World Cup. Singh helped India win its first U-19 World Cup.
Mohammad Kaif was the captain of the team, and he along with Sodhi, were playing their second World Cups. Wicket-keeper batsman Ajay Ratra was also present in the squad.
2002 – Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Paul Valthaty, Manvinder Bisla, and Stuart Binny
Parthiv Patel played the U-19 World Cup in 2002 and soon became a part of the senior team. Manvinder Bisla and Paul Valthaty went on to become huge stars in the IPL.
On the other side, bowling all-rounder Irfan Pathan and Stuart Binny represented the Indian team for an extended period. Pathan also won the 2007 T20 World Cup with the senior team.
2004 – Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, VRV Singh, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, RP Singh, and Robin Uthappa
Most of the players of the 2004 U-19 World Cup’s Indian team have won at least one ICC tournament with the senior team as well. Dinesh Karthik, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa are still active players.
The others have ended their careers due to injury problems or being dropped from the team. Except RP Singh and VRV Singh, all others will play in IPL 2020.
2006 – Rohit Sharma, Shahbaz Nadeem, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, and Piyush Chawla
The 2006 Indian U-19 World Cup squad made it to the finals of the competition, where it lost to Pakistan. Rohit Sharma has been the most successful player from that team.
Shahbaz Nadeem, Ravindra Jadeja, and Piyush Chawla have been valuable members of the Indian spin bowling attack, whereas Cheteshwar Pujara has been India’s backbone in Test cricket.
2008 – Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Siddarth Kaul, and Abhinav Mukund
As mentioned ahead, Virat Kohli captained the Indian U-19 team in the 2008 World Cup and helped them win the World Cup with a win over South Africa in the final.
Ravindra Jadeja played his second U-19 World Cup and won it while the likes of Abhinav Mukund, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, and Siddarth Kaul also featured in the squad.
2010 – KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, and Sandeep Sharma
India had a disastrous campaign in the 2010 U-19 World Cup as they could not make it to the semifinals. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are the biggest names to emerge from the squad.
Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat, and Sandeep Sharma have been a part of IPL regularly, but they have not played much international cricket for India.
2014 – Shreyas Iyer, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Sarfaraz Khan, and Deepak Hooda
Kuldeep Yadav and Shreyas Iyer played for the Indian U-19 team in the 2014 World Cup. Sanju Samson was also an integral part of that team.
All-rounder Deepak Hooda and explosive batsman Sarfaraz Khan have also been mainstays in the IPL and a few good performances could help them earn a place in the senior team.
2016 – Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Sarfaraz Khan, and Washington Sundar
The 2016 batch produced some hard-hitting batsmen like Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan. Pant is already being backed by many to be the next big thing in Indian cricket.
Kishan is yet to make his debut, while Khan played his 2nd U-19 World Cup for the country. Washington Sundar has also made his senior debut.
