Bangladesh won their maiden U19 World Cup by beating India in the U19 World Cup 2020 final which was held this time in South Africa. This was the first ICC title won by the country in their entire cricket history. Meanwhile, for the Indian players, this is a stepping stone in finding a long career in the sport. The likes of Yashsvi Jaiswal, Priyam Garg, Ravi Bishnoi also managed to bag IPL contracts which is a great sign for their future as well.
Meanwhile, while the current Indian squad is yet to get over their defeat in the U19 World Cup 2020 final, there have been many Indian players who have been ICC U19 World Cup winners and have made it big in the senior side.
In this article, we will have a look at previous India U19 cricketers and where are they now.
1988
This was the very first edition of the U19 World Cup history. Australia hosted the event and also were the maiden U19 World Cup winners. India was led by Mylvahanan Senthilnathan of Tamil Nadu. He played 37 first-class matches and 16 List-A matches. Meanwhile, Nayan Mongia, Narendra Hirwani and Venkapathy Raju went onto play for India
1998
The second edition of the U19 world cup history, happened 10 years after the first. Hosted by South Africa, England went onto become the U19 World Cup titleholders that year. India was led by Amit Pagnis, who went onto become a veteran Indian domestic cricketer. Mohd Kaif, Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh who have been successful cricketers themselves with the senior team, featured in that U19 World Cup for India.
2000
The Indian pair of Yuvraj Singh and Mohd Kaif featured for India in that edition of the world cup. From 2000 to 2006, the duo were constant members of the Indian cricket team, with Yuvraj Singh going onto become the Man of the Tournament in the 2011 World Cup. Kaif played 125 ODIs and 13 Tests for India. India under Kaif lifted the U19 World Cup for the very first time.
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2002
Parthiv Patel led the Indian team in this edition of the World Cup. India reached the semifinals of the world cup where it lost against South Africa. Irfan Pathan and Stuart Binny who played in the senior team also were among past winners of U19 world cup.
2004
Ambati Rayudu led the Indian team in this edition of the World Cup in Bangladesh. He along with Shikhar Dhawan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh, Dinesh Karthik are all u19 world cup previous winners who have made it to the senior Indian squad.
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2006
Current Indian vice-captain Rohit Sharma led India in this edition and were beaten by Pakistan in the final. Ravindra Jadeja, Piyush Chawla, Manish Pandey and Cheteshwar Pujara, who was named the Man of the Series, emerged from this U 19 team.
2008
Current Indian skipper Virat Kohli led India to their second U19 World Cup win in Malaysia beating South Africa in the final. Kohli broke through the Indian senior team immediately after the world cup and has broken several records with his bat. Ravindra Jadeja and Siddharth Kaul also played in that edition.
2010
India was led by Rajasthan’s Ashok Menaria in this edition of the U19 World Cup. Australia were the eventual titleholders, while KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal went onto play for the senior Indian team.
2012
India under Unmukt Chand become the titleholders for the third time. Chand scored an unbeaten 111 in the final. He was considered the next big thing in Indian cricket before his career wared off completely. His U-19 teammate Hanuma Vihari has made it to the Test squad.
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2014
Vijay Zol led the India squad in this edition. India got players like Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, who are now regular members of the Indian senior side. Zol like Chand, lost in the world if wilderness.
2016
Ishan Kishan became the next big thing after MS Dhoni as he led India in this World Cup. Though he is yet to break through to the Indian senior team, he is playing in the IPL for Mumbai Indians. The cricket world got to know Rishabh Pant and Washington Sundar after this edition of the tournament.
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2018
Prithvi Shaw led India became the titleholders for the fourth time beating Australia in the final. The event was hosted in New Zealand. Along with Shaw, Shubman Gill, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi broke through the IPL. Shaw even scored his maiden Test ton in his very first Test innings to start a promising career.