Under 19 level of cricket has been considered as the breeding ground for the future stars of cricket.The likes of Virat Kohli, Mitchell Johnson , Yuvraj Singh and many others came to the limelight after their performance in the Under19 level. There have been late bloomers too, with the likes of Dale Steyn. This tournament has witnessed some players who made it big at the senior level and many fading away after a decent outing at the Under19 level.Here is a list of some Indian players
1. REETINDER SINGH SODHI: This lad from Patiala, Punjab was perhaps the answer to the fast bowling all rounde India was searching for a long time after Kapil Dev.He led India to victory in Under 15 World Cup in 1996. His allround performance was highlights of the tournament.He was then deputy to Kaif in India’s Under19 triumph. He made his ODI debut in december 2000, but couldnot impress the selectors. He played 18 matches and averaged just 25 with the bat and picked up just 5 wickets. He later on joined the rebel ICL and played for Ahmedabad Rockets.After the ICL players were allowed to play IPL, he was picked by Kings 11, but could do nothing significant.
2. PRADEEP SANGWAN: He was instrumental with the ball picking up 8 wickets in India’s road to victory in the 2008 Under19 World Cup.His tally of wickets was curtailed by the spinners.With batting ability to his credit, he had the potential to make it big at the senior level. He started well in the domestic circuit picking up 33 wickets in the first Ranji season but could not carry it on. He was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the 1st edition of IPL and then by KKR. He has been banned for 18 months from any BCCI certified cricketing event after he was found positive in the DOPE test.
3. PIYUSH CHAWLA: With all the talent in the world ,he couldnot make it long.He was first picked in the Under19 side at the age of 15 and the next time , he led the side to the finals in 2006. They lost to Pakistan after a fine spell of swing bowling from Anwar Ali blew away the Indian top order. Chawla had a decent outing in the final too, picking 4 wickets and scoring 25 runs.He was picked in the Indain test for against England at home , but could not impress.He got his ODI chance after Harbhajan Singh was mad the scrape goat of India’s first round exit from 2007 ODI world cup. He impressed everyone , especially with his googlies only to make way for Harbhajan Singh for T20 World Cup. His performance soon degraded and was out of selector’s eye for sometime, only to be surprisingly selected for 2011 World Cup. He bowled well in practice matches but looked out of sorts in the main tournament. He has played for Kings11 in the IPL. This year he has been bought by KKR. With, so many spinners coming up, there are remote chances of him playing for India again.
4. HARMEET SINGH: He featured in 2 Under-19 world cup and was an important factor behind India winning the title in 2012. He bowled economically and his ability to beat the batsman in flight was compared to legendary Bishen Singh Bedi.According to Ian Chappel, he had all the skills to be drafted into India’s test team . He was bought by Rajasthan royals but could not do anything significant. He was alleged for match fixing along with Sreesanth , Chavan and Chandila. Mumbai left him out their Ranji squad and he did not get any buyer in the recently concluded IPL auction. With dark clouds surrounding his career, it is clear that Indian management could not handle this gem .
