5 cricket legends who played in Under-19 World Cup before making it big in internationals

Virender Sehwag

The Under-19 World Cup has been one of the biggest stages for the budding cricketers from all over the world to showcase their talent. Starting in 1988 as the Youth World Cup, the tournament has a rich history with most of the players playing in the tournament going on to represent their respective teams in internationals.

Although there have been many successful players who played in the under-19 world cups and are currently playing in internationals, there are quite a handful of them who went on to become legends of the game.

Here are a few legendary cricketers who represented their young sides and have now retired from all forms of international cricket.


#5 Virender Sehwag

The Delhi born cricketer, who is often regarded as the 'Nawab of Najafgarh', was one of the most loved cricketers on the cricket field. He was famous for his nonchalant attitude, striking the bowlers right from the first ball that he faced. It did not matter to him whether he was standing in a limited over match or a Test.

Sehwag featured in the 1998 edition of the tournament played in England. He had an unsuccessful World Cup as he managed to score just 76 runs in the 6 matches that he played. Although he couldn't do much with the bat, he was quite handy with the ball, clinching 7 wickets in the tournament.

In international cricket, Sehwag has scored 8273 runs in ODIs in 251 matches and 8586 runs in 104 Tests. He scored 38 centuries in his international career, out of which 23 came in Tests and 15 in One-dayers.

#4 Michael Clarke

Australia v New Zealand - 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup: Final

Michael Clarke is one of Australia's most prolific batsman. Clarke, who captained Australia late in his career, led the Australians to their fifth World Cup win, which the hosts won in 2015.

Clarke played in the 2000 edition of the under-19 World Cup, which was held in Sri Lanka. He failed to perform in the tournament as he could score just 72 runs in 5 matches at an average of 14.40.

In International cricket, Clarke has scored 7981 runs in 245 ODIs and 8643 runs in 115 Tests. With 28 hundred in Tests and 8 in ODIs, he has scored a total of 36 international tons.

#3 Inzamam-ul-Haq

India Play First O.D.I Against Pakistan As First Tour For 15 Years Starts

Inzamam-ul-Haq, who was often known as 'Inzy', is the best batsman from Pakistan. He is rated as one of the best captains who led the Pakistan cricket team. He is one of the ten batsmen who have scored more than 20,000 runs in internationals.

Haq represented the young Pakistan team in the 1988 edition of the tournament, which was then known as the Youth World Cup. The player had quite a mediocre tournament scoring 223 runs in 9 matches at an average of 37.16. He failed to score a fifty-plus knock in the tournament.

In International cricket, the legend has scored 11739 runs in 378 ODIs and 8830 runs in 120 Tests. In total, he has scored 20580 runs in internationals, which is the tenth most in the world. He ended his career scoring 35 centuries out of which 25 came in Tests and 10 in ODIs.

#2 Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya, the legendary cricketer from Sri Lanka, is one of the greatest all-rounders in the world. Jayasuriya captained the island nation in an era when Sri Lankan cricket rose from a minnow to a cricketing superpower. Mahela Jayawardene, Kumar Sangakkara and Tillakaratne Dilshan are some other greats who honed under him.

Jayasuriya played in the Youth World Cup of 1988, which was hosted by Australia. He had an unsuccessful tournament with the bat as he could manage to score just 70 runs in 6 matches. He scored a fifty in a match but failed to deliver in the rest of the matches. As a bowler, he took 7 wickets in the 5 innings.

In internationals, Jayasuriya has scored 13430 runs in 445 ODIs and 6973 in 110 Tests. As a bowler, he has taken 323 wickets in ODIs and 98 in Tests. He has scored a total of 42 international centuries, scoring 28 in ODIs and 14 in Tests.

#1 Brian Lara

Brian Lara

Brian Lara is one of the greatest cricketers that the world has ever produced. The West Indian is one of the few players in the world who has scored more than 10,000 runs in both Test and ODIs. Brian Lara's score of 400 runs in a Test innings is the highest that has been scored by an individual.

Lara represented the young West Indies side in the 1988 edition of the tournament. Lara had an average World Cup where he scored 222 runs in 8 matches at an average of 27.75. He could score just one fifty in the tournament.

In internationals, Lara has scored 10405 runs in 299 ODIs and 11953 runs in 131 Tests. In total, he has scored 22358 runs in internationals, which ranks him seventh on the list of all-time highest international run scorers. He has 53 international centuries under his belt, scoring 34 of them in Tests and 19 is ODIs.

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Edited by Sarah Waris