Journey to Stardom: 10 Indian Cricket Stars Who Started Their Journey With The U-19 World Cup

Men In Blue
Men In Blue

The U-19 National Cricket Team of India is not as famous as compared to the Senior Team. It's also true that the U-19 team fails to draw a huge number of spectators as well. The U-19 World Cup is such a tournament where youngsters get to prove themselves by giving their best performance. India have got so many jewels from the U-19 Team, who showcased their talent in the U-19 World Cup.

Here, in this slideshow, we will be focusing on 10 such cricketers, who were noticed by the Indian selectors in the U-19 World Cup first and then became an important pillar of the Indian National Team.


1. Virat Kohli (2008 ICC U-19 World Cup)

ICC Under 19 World Cup Final - India v South Africa
Virat Kohli

The 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup was held in Malaysia from February 17, 2008, to March 2, 2008. Young Virat Kohli led the India U-19 team to victory against South Africa U-19 Team in that edition of U-19 World Cup.

The contribution of Virat for Team India throughout the tournament drew the attention of Indian team selectors. Not only with the bat, Virat also guided Team India towards the victory like an effective leader. That victory in the 2008 U-19 World Cup brought Virat to the limelight and we got our current skipper, who is a strong pillar in the batting order.


2. Ravindra Jadeja (2008 ICC U-19 World Cup)

ICC U/19 Cricket World Cup - Official Team Photo calls
Ravindra Jadeja

From the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup, another jewel was found out by the India Team selectors and he is none other than Ravindra Jadeja. In 2005, Jadeja made his first U-19 appearance for India.

In the 2008 ICC U-19 World Cup, Jadeja was the vice-captain of the team. He took 10 wickets in 6 games with an average of 13. He also played a crucial role in that edition of U-19 World Cup with the ball which helped India in achieving the victory, under the leadership of Kohli.

3. Rohit Sharma (2006 ICC U-19 World Cup)

India Portraits - ICC Twenty20 World Cup
Rohit Sharma

Rohit Sharma is the only player in the history of world cricket who has scored three double tons in ODIs. Rohit had an exceptional campaign in the 2006 ICC U-19 World Cup as he scored 205 runs in 6 innings at an average of 41. His remarkable performance in that edition of U-19 World Cup drew the attention the selectors and he was added to the national squad in 2007.


4. Cheteshwar Pujara (2006 ICC U-19 World Cup)

India Training Session
Cheteshwar Pujara

Though Cheteshwar Pujara is mainly popular as a payer of Test format, he was there in the squad of 2006 ICC U-19 World Cup and also was the only batsman who scored a ton India. Pujara scored 349 runs in 6 innings and became the leading scorer of the tournament.

5. Shikhar Dhawan (2004 ICC U-19 World Cup)

India v West Indies: Group B - ICC Champions Trophy
Shikhar Dhawan

The 2004 ICC U-19 World Cup was held in Bangladesh, in which Shikhar Dhawan played for India and finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. He scored a total of 505 runs from 7 innings, which is a record for a single tournament and still, that is unbroken.

With three tons and a fifty, he scored at an average of 84.16. He was named the Player of the Tournament for his spectacular performance. From the very beginning, he showcased his power and his destructive nature of batting, which made him a nightmare for the opponent bowlers.


6. Suresh Raina (2004 ICC U-19 World Cup)

ICC Champions Photocall - India
Suresh Raina

Another important member of today's Indian team who emerged from the 2004 ICC U-19 World Cup, is Suresh Raina. In that edition of the U-19 World Cup, Raina scored three half-centuries, including a 90 off only 38 balls. Raina's outstanding fielding, ability to pick up necessary wickets, and most significantly, his batting skills helped him to secure a permanent place in the senior team.

7. Mohammed Kaif (2000 ICC U-19 World Cup)

ICC India Portraits
Mohammad Kaif

The memorable and famous partnerships between Mohammad Kaif and Yuvraj Singh helped India U-19 Team in achieving victory in the 2000 ICC U-19 World Cup over Sri Lanka. Mohammad Kaif was the captain of the side in that edition of U-19 World Cup. He played some notable knocks in partnership with Yuvraj and also became one of the best fielders in his side.


8. Yuvraj Singh (2000 ICC U-19 World Cup)

4th Test Australia v India Day Four
Yuvraj Singh

In the 2000 edition of U-19 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh's all-round performance named him the Player of the Tournament and his extraordinary performance made him the biggest find for Team India. His performance in the tournament included two fifties, one was 68 off 62 balls and another was 58 off 25 balls. Yuvraj also took 11 wickets throughout the tournament, in which 4/36 was his greatest spell.

9. Virender Sehwag (1998 ICC U-19 World Cup)

Virender Sehwag of India
Virender Sehwag

No one can compete Virender Sehwag when it comes to destructive batting. Extensively regarded as one of the most destructive batsmen of all time in the world cricket history, Sehwag played as an aggressive right-handed opening batsman.

Sehwag holds the record of scoring the highest score made by an Indian in Test cricket, which is 319 against South Africa. It was also the fastest triple century in the world cricket history, which came off only 278 balls. The journey of this legend started with the 1998 ICC U-19 World Cup.


10. Harbhajan Singh (1998 ICC U-19 World Cup)

Indian Portraits
Harbhajan Singh

Though the 1998 ICC U-19 World Cup was not a gorgeous campaign for Harbhajan Singh, he didn't get overlooked by the selectors of India Team. The Turbanator was a teammate of Virender Sehwag in that edition of U-19 World Cup and for his side, he took 8 wickets at an economy rate of 3.44 in 6 matches. Later in that year, he secured his place in the senior team.

Check RCB Squad 2024 Details. Follow Sportskeeda for IPL 2024 Live Score, Schedule, Points Table

Quick Links

Edited by Rajdeep Puri