5 Indian cricketers with a huge gap between U19 WC and international debut

2. Ambati Rayudu (2004 – 2013)

Ambati Rayudu has been in the news quite a bit since his omission from the World Cup squad earlier this year. He tweeted out his frustration before calling it a day and quitting international cricket. Rayudu has had an up and down year so far.

However, it was as a 16-year-old that he gained attention in 2001. Rayudu became the captain of India’s Under 19 World Cup team in 2004 which lost in the semi-finals. He didn’t have a great tournament as he could muster just 149 runs at an average of 24.83. However, he was once again in the limelight during the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in 2007 before it was scrapped.

But in 2010, he was picked up by Mumbai Indians (MI) in the IPL and did very well. Hence, he was a consistent performer but only got his chance in 2013. Rayudu made his debut in Zimbabwe in an ODI in 2013 and also scored a solid 63. It was only a year later that he first played T20Is. Hence, Rayudu had a nine-year gap between his Under 19 World Cup and international debut.