The U-19 Cricket World Cup is a massive opportunity for the youngsters to prove their talent and ability to the entire world. Several senior cricketers have arrived at the international level through this U-19 World Cup, burning bright through the fire of baptism.
Spanning from Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Tim Southee, Ravindra Jadeja, Kane Williamson the list unfolds to the likes of Yuvraj Singh who was also the man of the series in the U-19 World Cup. However, unlike the other cricket World Cups that happens once in four years, this event unfolds every two years. Therefore a cricketer who is just 16 years old in his first appearance can play another U-19 World Cup as he will just be 18.
BCCI has completely scrapped this rule for Indian cricketers and has made it a mandate that the cricketers can feature in only the U-19 World Cup. However, before this rule came into place, a few cricketers did manage to feature in more than two youth World Cups. We will take a quick glance at those fortunate youngsters.
#5 Sarfaraz Khan – 2014 and 2016
Sarfaraz grabbed the limelight after successfully imposing himself in the RCB roster with a string of extraordinary performances. He was one of those young talents retained by RCB alongside Kohli and ABD in the 2018 mega-auction.
Despite still failing to land a senior team opportunity, the hard-hitting youngster has racked up impressive figures in both the World Cups with an average of 70 plus in both the contests.
#4 Ricky Bhui – 2014 and 2016
He was thought of as an exceptionally bright prospect in the upcoming days of Indian cricket but his limited showdowns that would be humiliating, to say the least, ruined his career once and for all. Being a part of the U-19 World Cup in 2014, he could only manage 15 runs at an average of just 3.75.
He managed to secure another shot at redemption as he was called up for the 2016 U-19 World Cup. Things didn’t change much for the youngster as he could pile only 47 runs from three matches that practically snuffed out his chances of making it big in the offing.
#3 Avesh Khan – 2014 and 2016
The talented fast bowler who has been making a lot of ripples lately, especially in the ranks of Delhi Capitals for the first part of the 2021 IPL, was also one of the rare players to have featured twice in a youth World Cup.
His first foray in the 2014 World Cup would see him playing two games that would see him claiming just one wicket. However, his next appearance in the U-19 World Cup will see him playing in six matches from which he would claim 12 scalps with a sublime 4-fer.
#2 Vijay Zol – 2012 and 2014
Zol becomes the second RCB cricketer after Sarfaraz Khan to star in this list. He featured in this fray twice as he played in the 2012 and the 2014 World Cups.
He drafted a couple of mediocre showdowns in the two U-19 frays that he was a part of. In his first shot at glory, he could manage 151 runs while his second essay in the U-19 World Cup, saw him slowing down by a notch, eventually managing to pile up 120 runs.
#1 Ravindra Jadeja – 2006 and 2008
Needless to say but Jadeja is simply one of the best all-rounders in world cricket and has established himself as a significant moniker in the Indian ranks. His towering batting with an exquisite display with the cherry in his arm makes him a brilliant pick in Indian colors.
In the 2006 World Cup, he was a part of the Indian squad alongside Rohit Sharma. The team reached the finals but would eventually go onto lose it to arch-rivals, Pakistan. In the 2008 World Cup, he would star alongside Virat Kohli and eventually redeem his earlier miss as India will be the champions of the tournament by drubbing South Africa in a truncated finale.
Credit: Swag Cricket
