Internet Desk: Young sensation Prithvi Shaw led Indian cricket team will start their campaign in the ICC U19 World Cup against Australia in a couple of days time. It’s true that the popularity of the junior brigade is not the same as the senior team, but he U19 World Cup is a platform for them to showcase the world about their talents and it would give them the ticket for the national squad too. After each U19 World Cup, the nation got one or two stars from the tournament, who has become the legends of the game.
Just a day ahead of the start of the tournament www.xtratime.in will talk about 7 players who were the stars for India in the U19 World Cup and later in the career they became the integral part of the national team.
1. Virat Kohli
The current Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli represented the nation in the U19 World Cup back in 2008. Virat not only led the side in the tournament but also contributed with his bat in the tournament to win the World Cup. After that he got the chance in the senior team and we all know that he is currently one of the best batsman in the world.
2. Harbhajan Singh
The star off-spinner from Punjab didn’t have a great outing in the U19 World Cup back in 1998. He bagged 8 wickets in 6 matches with an economy rate of 3.44, though the selectors were pleased with his talent as he got the chance in the national team in 1998.
3. Virender Sehwag
Sehwag has always been regarded as India’s one of the best openers of all-time. His journey started when he played in the 1998 U19 World Cup. After that it was all Sehwag show in Indian cricket. He holds the record of fastest 300 in Test cricket and he also has a double ton in ODI too.
4. Yuvraj Singh
The left hand batsman was the real find of the nation in the 2000 U19 World Cup. The Blue colts registered a thumping win over neighbor Sri Lanka in the final and Yuvraj got the Man of the tournament award for his brilliant performance. He scored two half centuries and took 11 wickets to help India to lift the title. The star batsman repeated the same thing for the senior team as he was the key for India to lift the 2011 ICC World Cup after 28 long years.
5. Rohit Sharma
The current Indian opener in the limited-overs cricket Rohit Sharma who is also known as hitman made a remarkable impact in the U19 World Cup back in 2006. In his 6 innings he scored 205 runs with an average of 41 and he got the call up for national side in 2007. His first trophy in senior level came in the same year when India won the maiden T20 World Cup title in the inaugural edition.
6. Mohammad Kaif
His partnership with Yuvraj started from U19 World Cup days. Mohammad Kaif was the skipper of the side, where the Blue colts won the title with the help of Yuvraj Singh’s performance with both bat and ball. In the senior team they also shared some memorable partnership. Among them the best came in 2002 NatWest series final where the two helped India to win a remarkable final against England.
7. Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja was from the same squad with Virat Kohli which won the 2008 U19 World cup. Though he didn’t perform well in the tournament but later after getting his chance in the senior team he has become a great all-rounder for the nation. His combination with Ravichandran Ashwin in the spin department is one of the best spin-attack in the world.