Under-19 World Cup Stars who did not live up to their potential

The ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup is the flagship tournament for the U-19 National teams and is contested by teams across cricketing nations.

The event, which initiated in the year 1988, has gained a lot of popularity in the recent years and is a biennial event since 1998.

The first edition had eight teams, however, since the 1998 edition 16 teams have participated in all the tournaments till date. India, the current champions, are the most successful side in the tournament with four titles. Australia, who won the first ever world cup in 1988 have three titles to their name and are the second most successful side.

Many teenage cricketers have used this tournament as a stepping stone and gone on to become National and International Greats with their U-19 experience.

Chris Gayle, Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson and Virat Kohli are few of the great cricketers that have launched their successful international careers through the U-19 World Cup.

However, for every Gayle or Kohli there are numerous cricketers that fail to realise their true potential.

Let us have a look at five of these players: -

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#5 Zahid Saeed

Saeed in action during the Ramdan Cup Final

Zahid Saeed, the left arm fast medium pacer from Pakistan found himself in International headlines during the 2000 U-19 Cricket World Cup.

Saeed was the most successful bowler in the tournament and was even compared to the great Wasim Akram at one point of time.

In his first-class career which was eight years long, the Punjab born bowler picked up 299 wickets in in 75 matches at an excellent average of 24.54 and an economy of 3.51.

However, his place in the national Team of Pakistan, which did not seem far away as a 19-year old kid, never got materialised. Saeed played his last First-Class Match in 2006.

#4 Donovan Pagon

Donovan Pagon scored the highest ever individual score in the U-19 World Cup

In the 2002 edition of the U-19 World Cup, Donovan Pagon played one of the most memorable knocks of Youth ODI history.

The West Indian batsman made the highest ever individual score in a U-19 World Cup when he scored 176* against Scotland U-19 in the tournament. He hit 21 fours and four sixes in the course of the innings. His brilliant form continued throughout the tournament and it looked like West Indies have got another cricketing star.

However, Pagon played just a couple of Tests for the West Indies and in his 3 innings scored just 37 runs, 35 of which came only in one innings.

Pagon did not play for the national team ever again.

#3 Enamul Haque jnr

Enamul has taken over 400 First Class Wickets

Enamul Haque Jr. attracted international attention when he picked up 22 wickets in eight matches at an average of just 10.18 and a strike rate of 19.2 in the 2004 U-19 World Cup.

His tally of 22 wickets is the most by any bowler in a single world cup in the history of the tournament.

The slow left-arm spinner who was looked upon as a bowling partner of Mohammad Rafique, initially did well on the international stage but was unable to sustain that performance for long.

In 15 Test Matches for Bangladesh, Haque averages over 40 and in the 10 ODIs over 30. Cricket experts believe that his numbers do not justify his potential at all.

#2 Wayne Holdsworth

Wayne Holdsworth has over 200 wickets in First Class Cricket

The Australian First Class Cricketer who played for the New South Wales Blues, Holdsworth participated in the first ever U-19 World Cup in 1988 and was part of the Australian side which won the World Cup.

A right arm pace bowler for the Aussies, Holdsworth was one of the finds of the tournament and everyone expected him to perform on the international stage soon.

Even with over 200 wickets in 68 First Class matches and an impressive U-19 World Cup Tournament, Holdsworth never made his international debut.

#1 Unmukt Chand

Chand scored a hundred in the final of the 2012 U-19 World Cup

Unmukt Chand captained the Indian U-19 Team to a World Cup win in 2012 defeating a strong Australian side in the finals.

Perhaps the best innings in the U-19 World Cup stage came from the bat of Chand. It was the finals of the U-19 World Cup in Townsville, Australia and India had to chase down 226 runs.

However, India lost quick wickets at the top and it boiled down to Chand at one end who was looking extremely solid.

His temperament stood out as he scored a fine hundred in the finals remaining unbeaten and sending a strong message to the world.

But the Delhi cricketer failed to live up to the expectation and wasn’t up to the mark in Domestic and First Class Cricket. Even in the Indian Premier League, the right-handed batsman failed to deliver.

With an average of around 34 in first-class cricket and 21 in T20s, the national team is still a significant distance away from Chand.