10 Cricketers who led both U19 and national teams

7. Virat Kohli (India) – 2008:

Virat Kohli’s rise from leading his U19 team to the win to becoming the Test captain has been a fascinating journey. Kohli was in-charge of the junior team which won the World Cup played in Malaysia in 2008. He finished the tournament as the 3rd highest run-getter with 237 runs in 6 matches as he was always touted as the future of Indian batting and it didn’t take him long to make his way into the Indian squad.

A few years down the line and after creating and breaking newer standards for batsmen around the world, Kohli succeeded MS Dhoni as the Test captain during the tour of Australia in 2015. His talent and natural leadership skills made him the natural successor to Dhoni.

Over the years many things have changed for Kohli. He got rid of his brashness, arrogance, and outspoken mannerisms which were quite visible during his early years. But, the is one quality which has been with him since his under-19 days has been the hunger to become the world beater. This quality along with his ever-improving run-scoring habits has many label him as a future legend of the game. Virat has led his team in 14 Tests so far and has won 7 out of them while losing just two matches.