4 U-19 stars who never went on to play for India

From making his debut at the age of 16 to achieve almost all the batting records in international cricket, the journey of Sachin Tendulkar has inspired many young cricketers to take up the sport. Like Sachin Tendulkar, there have been many cricketing prodigies in India who went on to grace the highest level of cricket.

The likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, and Ajinkya Rahane, who have built a massive reputation at a very young age, have been equally effective at the international level of cricket. However, few players have shown a lot of promise at the age group level cricket, only to fail to make it big later on.

So, let us now take a look at four of such youngsters who have failed to live up to their true potential:

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4. Tanmay Srivastava

Tanmay Srivastava

Tanmay Srivastava needs no introduction to those who followed the Virat Kohli-led young Indian team in the 2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup held in Malaysia. He was India’s best batsman in the tournament. In fact, he led the batting charts with some consistent performances throughout the tournament. Batting at the crucial number 3 position, Tanmay played a critical role in India's successful competition by scoring 262 runs in 5 innings at an average of 52.

For all the promise he showed at U-19 level, Tanmay soon lost the plot and failed to make it to the international level. Kings XI Punjab offered the Uttar Pradesh lad an IPL contract after his strong 2008-09 Ranji season, but the youngster even failed there to make it big by scoring just eight runs in 2 innings. After 2012-13 Ranji season, Tanmay also struggled to find a place in the UP Ranji team. In 90 first-class matches, the southpaw has scored 4918 runs at a mediocre average of 34.39.

At the age of 30, he hasn't played for India yet and doesn't look like he is going to anytime soon.

3. Vijay Zol

Vijay Zol

After breaking into the scene with his 467-ball 451 for Maharashtra in an U-19 match, Vijay was roped into the India Under-19 squad at the age of 17. He was one of the few cricketers who hold the distinction of representing their country in two U-19 world cups.

After scoring 151 runs in 6 matches playing for Unmukt Chand's side that won the 2012 U-19 World Cup, Zol was made the captain for the 2014 U-19 World Cup. The defending champions India under the leadership of Zol, failed to defend their trophy as they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by England to end the tourney at 5th place. With 120 runs in 5 matches at an average of 24, Zol failed to lead his team from the front.

Currently, the 25-year-old continues to play the first-class cricket for Maharashtra. After playing some consistently for the India A teams for a few years, Zol lost his touch and hasn't looked like he is likely to come back in contention since then. So far Zol has scored 733 runs in 15 first-class matches at an average of 34.90.

2. Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz Khan

Sarfaraz first came into limelight when he scored a record 439 at the age of 12 in his first Haris Shield game in the year 2009. His consistent performances at the age group level earned him a place in the Vijay Zol-led Under-19 team for the ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup 2014. With his range of strokes and brave hitting, the 20-year-old scored 211 runs at an incredible average of 70.33.

He became the youngest ever player to feature in the IPL when Royal Challengers Bangalore signed him for Rs. 50 lakhs for IPL 8. Later he has also represented India in 2016 U-19 World Cup and ended the tournament as the second-highest leading run-scorer.

After this, there was a dip in his form, and since then he has never looked like the player he used to be. Sarfaraz seems to be finding his feet again at the domestic level, having scored a triple hundred and a double hundred in the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy. At 22, He may still make it to the international set up in the future.

1. Unmukt Chand

Unmukt Chand

Back in 2012, when Unmukt Chand lifted the Under-19 World Cup in Townsville, he was hailed as the next big thing in Indian cricket. He was one of the star performers of the tournament as he piled up 246 runs in 6 innings at an average of 49.20 which included an unbeaten ton against Australia in the final.

He was compared to his statemate Virat Kohli whose feat Chand replicated. However, the journey of Kohli and Chand after the U-19 World Cup is quite dissimilar as the former went on to become one of the modern-day greats of the game, but the latter is still struggling to make his mark at the highest level of cricket.

His numbers in the domestic circuit have not been as great as he just scored 3379 runs in 67 matches at an average of 31.57. Chand now plays for Uttarakhand at the domestic level. He would, however, have to drastically improve his performances if he is to stand a chance of making it to the Indian team.