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Virat Kohli led India to the ICC U-19 World Cup title win back in the year 2008. Under his leadership, India defeated South Africa in the final to become the new champions of the U-19 World Cup.
Despite representing their countries at the junior level, only a handful of players could make it to the main teams. As far as India is concerned, the likes of Ajitesh Argal, Napoleon Einstein, Shreevats Goswami, Perry Goyal, Iqbal Abdulla, Taruwar Kohli, D Siva Kumar, and Tanmay Srivastava never played international cricket.
Even players like Manish Pandey, Abhinav Mukund, Siddarth Kaul, and Saurabh Tiwary could not cement their spots in the senior team.
This shows how tough it is for U-19 players to achieve success at the senior level. Virat Kohli is currently among the best cricketers in the world. He has achieved enormous success in all three formats.
Kohli has scored 74 international centuries in his career so far. He is currently representing India against Australia in the 2023 ICC World Test Championship Final. Although he is no longer the captain, the 34-year-old has been giving tips to his teammates as he is a senior player and a former ICC trophy-winning skipper.
Notably, a couple of players other than Virat Kohli, who participated in the 2008 U-19 World Cup, are playing in the ongoing WTC Final.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja played under Virat Kohli's captaincy
Ravindra Jadeja is among the few players to have represented the Indian U-19 team at two different ICC events. He played for India in the 2006 U-19 World Cup and then was named the vice-captain for the 2008 edition.
Jadeja was the joint-highest wicket-taker for India in the mega event in 2008. He bagged 10 wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 3.14, and also scored 24 runs with the willow.
Like Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja has become India's top player in all three formats of the game. He is the team's main all-rounder. In the ongoing WTC Final, Jadeja has scored 48 runs and picked up three wickets so far.
#2 Steve Smith
Australian batter Steve Smith hit a ton against India in the first innings of the 2023 WTC Final. While he could not contribute much in the second innings, Smith's century in the first innings helped the Aussies gain a decent lead.
Smith was a part of the Australian squad that participated in the 2008 U-19 World Cup. He scored 114 runs and bagged seven wickets in just four matches for his team. The 34-year-old was considered to be a bowling all-rounder at the start of his career. His leg spin helped him break into the senior Australian team as well.
A few years after playing international cricket at the senior level, Smith transitioned from a bowling all-rounder to a specialist batter, scoring heaps of runs in all three formats.
