10 Promising Under-19 cricketers who faded away

6. Manjot Kalra

In the finals of the 2018 Under-19 Cricket World Cup, all eyes were fixed on Prithvi Shaw and Shubman Gill who had exuded their flair in the tournament. Though they provided the team a steady start, India found itself in a crunch position after both of them departed. That is when Manjot Kalra held the fort for the side. He hit a match-winning century against Australia and helped India to win their record fourth title win.

Hailing from North Delhi, Kalra performed well for the U-16 Delhi side. He had the guidance of Sanjay Bhardwaj, who groomed players like Gautam Gambhir, Amit Mishra, Unmukt Chand, and Nitish Rana. In a match against Punjab in the Under-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, he smashed a belligerent 172 that actually helped him book his spot for the U-19 World Cup.

Kalra was bought by the Delhi Capitals at his base price in the 2018 IPL auction. However, he did not play a single game in the tournament. In January 2020, Manoj Kalra was suspended by the outgoing DDCA Ombudsman from playing Ranji Trophy for one year, after an alleged age fraud during his U-16 and U-19 days.