The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 saw India win the tournament for a record fifth time but it has often not resulted in major rewards for majority of the youngsters.
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The ICC Under-19 World Cup 2022 saw India win the title for a record fifth time. They defeated England by four wickets to enhance their dominance of youth cricket. The triumph of 2022 only added to the wins in 2000, 2008, 2012, and 2018. Young players who represented India in the Under-19 World Cup have gone on to play for India at the international level. It is a natural progression. Players go through the youth system, culminating in the Under-19 World Cup. After that, there is entry into the domestic system of the country and then the international arena.
Read – Who is Dinesh Bana, the Under-19 Star who gave the title like MS Dhoni?
In modern times, Indian players who played the ICC Under-19 World Cup have played in the IPL in addition to domestic cricket. Prior to that, Indian players had an extended run in domestic cricket before making it big on the international stage. But, if one takes a closer look, out of the 15 players that play the Under-19 World Cup, few make it to the big stage.
Thus, it is not necessary that players who achieve success in the Under-19 World Cup have made it to the international arena. Here is a breakup of all the players who have gone on to represent India after playing the ICC Under-19 World Cup.
The ICC Under-19 World Cup was played first in 1988. India had selected a squad of 14 members which was led by Myluahanan Senthilnathan. India did not have a good outing as they finished sixth. Senthilnathan did not play for India. However, the side had several good players who went on to represent India with distinction. Venkatapathy Raju, Narendra Hirwani, Pravin Amre, and Subroto Banerjee went on to play for India. Hirwani created history by taking 16 wickets on debut. Amre became one of the most solid players in the Indian team while Nayan Mongia became India’s No.1 keeper in the mid-90s. Raju also became a steady left-arm spinner.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 14 | 5 (Venkatapathy Raju, Narendra Hirwani, Pravin Amre, Nayan Mongia, Subroto Banerjee) |
India lost out in the Super Eight stage to Australia. There were 13 players in the Indian team which was led by Amit Pagnis. But, that side gave India’s national team some legends. Virender Sehwag and Harbhajan Singh went on to become legends. Reetinder Singh Sodhi and Laxmi Shukla also featured in small parts for India at the start of the 21st century.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 13 | 4 (Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh, Laxmi Shukla, Reetinder Singh Sodhi) |
At the start of the 21st century, India won the ICC Under-19 World Cup for the first time. They selected 14 players, out of which some players became legends. This was the World Cup that was captained by Mohammad Kaif but it gave India Yuvraj Singh, the country’s ultimate match-winner. Ajay Ratra went on to score a century for India against West Indies in Antigua during the 2002 Test. Shalabh Srivastava went on to play for the IPL.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 14 | 3 (Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra) |
India could not defend the title. Out of the 14 players, four went on to play for India. Out of the lot, Suresh Raina became one of India’s best players. Parthiv Patel donned India’s wicketkeeping gloves for 5-6 years. Stuart Binny took 6/4 as he ended up with the best figures for an Indian bowler in ODIs.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 14 | 3 (Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel, Stuart Binny) |
For this edition, India selected 16 members captained by Ambati Rayudu. This was Raina’s second ICC Under-19 World Cup. But, this World Cup gave Shikhar Dhawan the platform for success. His 505 runs were a record for most runs in a single edition which was broken by Dewald Brevis in 2022. But, this was India’s best representation. Ambati Rayudu went on to have success for India along with Dinesh Karthik. Faiz Fazal also played a series against Zimbabwe but he led Vidarbha to two titles. VRV Singh also played for some time for India as well as Robin Uthappa.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 16 | 6 (Ambati Rayudu, Shikhar Dhawan, Robin Uthappa, Dinesh Karthik, VRV Singh, Faiz Fazal) |
There were 15 members chosen in the World Cup which saw India lose a low-scoring final to Pakistan. But, this batch had the best Indian players coming out. Rohit Sharma became one of the greatest limited-overs players for India. Ishant Sharma became India’s spearhead in the Test arena. Ravindra Jadeja became India’s best all-rounder while Cheteshwar Pujara emerged as the New Wall of the Indian cricket team. Shahbaz Nadeem also played a bit for India as well as Abu Nechim. Piyush Chawla was part of the ICC World Cup 2011 triumph and became an IPL stalwart.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 6 (Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Piyush Chawla, Shahbaz Nadeem) |
Out of the 15 members in the side, the world will be grateful that Virat Kohli emerged. He is currently one of the greatest players in the world. Ravindra Jadeja finally won the ICC under-19 World Cup in his second stint. Iqbal Abdulla had a good run in the IPL as well as Siddarth Kaul, Saurabh Tiwary and Pradeep Sangwan. Tanmay Srivastava also had a good run.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 3 (Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Siddarth Kaul) |
The 15 Indian players who went for the 2010 World Cup in New Zealand could not defend their title. But, some big names did come out of that side. KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal became the lynchpins of the Indian team. Harshal Patel had an outstanding IPL 2021 with 32 wickets and he made his India debut in 2021. Jaydev Unadkat played one Test for India in 2010 but he performed well in the IPL. Ashok Menaria, the captain, played well for Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 4 (KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Harshal Patel, Jaydev Unadkat) |
Perhaps, the unluckiest bunch of 15 players. Unmukt Chand helped India win the 2012 World Cup in Australia, with the captain himself scoring a century. But, many Indian players never got a chance to play for the national team. Chand has moved to the USA to play cricket followed by Smit Patel. Out of the entire lot, only Sandeep Sharma and Hanuma Vihari had some India representation.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 2 (Sandeep Sharma, Hanuma Vihari) |
Read – ICC Under-19 Captains Who Made it Big and Who Failed
The 2014 edition in the UAE saw India finish in 5th position but out of 15, not many came in the Indian team. Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, and Sanju Samson became big names for India. Kuldeep, in particular, had a brilliant run from 2017 to 2019. Avesh Khan has enhanced his reputation with Delhi Capitals.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 4 (Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer) |
India once again dominated in the ICC Under-19 World Cup but they lost in the final to West Indies. Out of the 15, Rishabh Pant became a superstar and boosted India after the retirement of MS Dhoni. Ishan Kishan was a key player for Mumbai Indians and made his India debut in 2021. Washington Sundar and Khaleel Ahmed also played for India, with Sundar achieving a lot more success.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 4 (Ishan Kishan, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Khaleel Ahmed) |
A dominating performance by India in the ICC Under-19 World Cup. They were unbeaten and they thrashed Australia in the final to win the title for the fourth time. In the 15-man squad, Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill made big strides. Shaw made a century on debut while Gill impressed at all levels. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivan Mavi, Anukul Roy, and Abhishek Sharma all have plied their trade with varying degrees of success with the IPL.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 2 (Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill) |
India fell short in the final yet again, this time losing to Bangladesh. But, in the tournament, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ravi Bishnoi emerged as the stars. Both are tipped to be part of the India team soon. Priyam Garg was also picked in the IPL.
| Total Players | Players Who Played for India |
| 15 | 0 |
