5 current Indian cricket team stars you probably didn't know played the Under 19 WC

The Under 19 World Cup has always provided an opportunity for the budding cricketers to showcase their talent in front of a world audience. India is the most successful nation in this tournament, having won the title a record four times- 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018.

Mohammad Kaif led India to their first ever title in 2000, Virat Kohli captained them to an emphatic win in Malaysia in 2008, Unmukt Chand skippered the Indian colts to the title in 2012 and a young Prithvi Shaw led India to their fourth title at New Zealand in 2018.

There have been players from the Under 19 level who represented Indian senior side at the international level. Let us now look at four current Indian team members you probably might not know played at the Under 19 World Cup.

Honourable mentions: Virat Kohli

---

#1) Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma rose to prominence during the 2005 Deodhar Trophy with a knock of 142*(126) playing for the West Zone. Rohit, who was just 18, earned a spot in the Indian Under 19 side for the 2006 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Sri Lanka with his consistent performance and batting prowess in the domestic circuit. Rohit who played six matches at the 2006 Under 19 World Cup, scored 205 runs at an average of 41.0 with his highest score being 78.

Rohit also took four wickets in as many games with his best figures being 2/15. Team India finished as runners-up to Pakistan, who won their second successive Under 19 title. Rohit went onto make his Ranji Trophy debut in the 2006-07 season for Mumbai and eventually made the senior team debut against Ireland in June 2007. He was also a part of the victorious Indian side that won the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa defeating Pakistan in the finals at Johannesburg.

Sharma made his T20 debut for the Men in Blue in the game against England in which Yuvraj Singh scored six sixes in Stuart Broad's over. He is now a permanent fixture in the Indian limited-overs side and holds numerous batting records in ODIs and T20s. He is also one of the most successful players in the IPL with four titles (three as a captain).

#2) Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina

Suresh Raina rose to prominence during the Indian Under 19 team's tours to England and Sri Lanka back in 2002. The southpaw made his Ranji Trophy debut for Uttar Pradesh in 2003 after which he was selected for the Under 19 Asian ODI Championship held in Pakistan. A series of good performances in this tournament earned him a spot in the Indian squad for the 2004 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup, which was hosted by Bangladesh.

Raina, who played seven games at the 2004 ICC Under 19 World Cup was India's second highest run-getter in that tournament with 247 runs at an average of 35.28, with his highest score being 90. He made his ODI debut for Team India in July 2005 against Sri Lanka when he was just 19.

Raina though made his Test debut five years later, in 2010 against the same opposition. An interesting fact is that Raina became the first Indian player to score a century in the all three formats when he scored one in a group match against South Africa at the 2010 ICC World T20 in West Indies. He is now a regular fixture in India's limited-overs sides and is one of the highly successful players in the IPL.

#3) Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep Yadav

Kuldeep, who plays for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit represented the Indian colts at the 2014 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in UAE. The Indian team finished fifth in that tournament under skipper, Vijay Zol. In a group game against Scotland in Dubai, Kuldeep took a hattrick and thereby became the first ever Indian player to do so at the Under 19 level.

Kuldeep was undoubtedly the stand out bowler for Team India in the tournament, with 14 scalps in just six matches at an economy of 4.1. Though he was a part of the Mumbai Indians squad in the 2012 edition, he made his IPL debut for the Kolkata Knight Riders in 2016.

His impressive performance for Gambhir's men (16 wickets in 12 matches) in the 2017 IPL, earned him the national spot. He made his Test debut against Australia in March 2017 and his ODI debut in June 2017 against West Indies. Now, he is one of the prime wicket-takers for the Men in Blue across all formats of the game.

#4) Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan

Dhawan, who plays for Delhi in domestic circuit represented them at both the Under 17 and Under 19 levels. He also represented the Indian colts at the 2004 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh and was the leading run-scorer for Team India with 505 runs in seven matches at an average of 84.16, with his highest score being 155*.

India lost to eventual winners Pakistan in the semi-finals by five wickets at Dhaka and Dhawan was named the Player of the Tournament for his exploits with the bat. Dhawan, who made his Ranji Trophy debut in November 2004, had to six years for his senior debut in spite of some impressive performances with the bat for Delhi.

Thanks to his stints with the Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians in the IPL, he made it to the Indian team for the ODI series against Australia in October 2010. He made his ODI debut in that series and went on to make his T20 debut in June 2011 against West Indies. Owing to his impressive run in the 2012-13 domestic circuit, he his much-awaited Test debut against Australia in March 2013

#5) Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth Kaul

Siddarth, who has represented Punjab at the Under 15, 17 and 19 levels in the domestic circuit made his Ranji Trophy debut in 2007. Kaul played for the victorious Indian colts led by skipper Virat Kohli at the 2008 ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup in Malaysia. India defeated South Africa 12 runs (D/L method) in the final at Kuala Lumpur. Kaul was India's joint highest wicket-taker with 10 scalps in five matches at an economy of 4.2 and even bowled a brilliant final over in the crunch-finals.

Though he was a consistent fixture in the Punjab squad, he did not earn the national call up until this year. Thanks to his wonderful stint with the Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL( 16 wickets in 2017 and 21 wickets in 2018 edition), he earned the senior team call for India's tour of England this year. The promising pacer from Punjab made his T20I debut against the English in June 2018 and is currently playing the ODIs (July 12, 2018-debut) for the Indian Cricket team in England.