3 current international captains who played in the 2012 U19 World Cup ft. Babar Azam

It was on this day (August 26) that India clinched the ICC U19 World Cup 2012 by beating Australia in the final at Townsville. It marked India's third title in the men's event, with Unmukt Chand joining Mohammad Kaif and Virat Kohli as the then-title-winning skippers from the country.

Only a spoonful of members from that Indian contingent - Hanuma Vihari and Sandeep Sharma - have gone on to represent Team India. But the tournament saw a number of budding talents from around the world go on to cast themselves as mainstays in their respective countries' setups.

A few of them have also had the luxury of going on to captain their respective teams at the highest level. Some of them weren't assigned that role at the U19 World Cup but have only grown with time as both players and leaders to establish themselves as bona fide international cricketers.

On the 11th anniversary of the conclusion of the U19 World Cup 2012, let's look at three current international captains who took part in that event.

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#1 Babar Azam - Pakistan

That Babar Azam is one of the world's best players in today's era is a no-brainer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most consistent batters Pakistan has ever produced, he is the only batter at present to average in excess of 50 in all formats of international cricket.

Babar led Pakistan at the U19 World Cup in 2012 having also appeared in the 2010 edition as a 15-year old. It wasn't a campaign to remember though for Pakistan as the 2010 runners-up lost their seventh-place playoff match to Bangladesh.

The skipper had an outstanding campaign though, finishing second on the run-scorers charts with 287 runs at an average of 57.40.

Since then, however, Babar's career graph has only seen an upward trajectory. He is currently in the top four of the ICC Rankings for batters in all formats, topping the charts in ODIs.

Having led Pakistan to the final of the T20 World Cup in Australia last year, he will look to go one step better in the ODI edition in India in October and November this year.

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#2 Hashmatullah Shahidi - Afghanistan

Afghanistan's Hashmatullah Shahidi turned out in the U19 World Cup 2012 as a 17-year-old under the captaincy of top-order batter Javed Ahmadi. The southpaw endured a mediocre campaign though, tallying just 103 runs in six innings at 17.16 apiece and a solitary half-century to his name.

Shahidi made his senior debut soon after in 2013 in ODIs and T20Is, while also being a member of Afghanistan's first-ever Test XI in 2018. He remains the first and only batter from Afghanistan to record a double-century in Tests having done so against Zimbabwe in 2021.

Today, Shahidi leads Afghanistan in Tests and ODIs and remains a pivotal part of their middle-order. A rock-solid batter who can be quite hard to dislodge, his returns could have a huge say in how far Afghanistan go in the Asia Cup and the World Cup.

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#3 Gerhard Erasmus - Namibia

The ICC Men's Associate Cricketer of 2022, all-rounder Gerhard Erasmus turned out at the U19 World Cup 2012 with Namibia failing to progress past the group stage.

Erasmus mustered just 93 runs in five matches with a highest score of 32 while keeping wickets in the tournament. Over time though, he has developed into a very proficient middle-order batter against spin while sending down overs of off-spin himself.

Today, he remains a highly inspirational figure in the Namibian national setup having led them at the T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022. His unbeaten 49-ball 53 against The Netherlands was pivotal in securing his team a berth in the Super 12 stage of the 2021 edition.

Erasmus' batting numbers make for outstanding reading as he averages 45.51 with the bat in ODIs and 32.63 at a strike rate of 127.97 in T20Is. His next target will be a berth for Namibia at the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA next year with the team set to host the African regional qualifiers later this year.

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Can Babar Azam lead Pakistan to the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup title this year? Have your say in the comments section below!

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