ICC U19 World Cup – The Breeding Ground of Prominent Players

The ICC U19 World Cup has been the perfect place for the youngsters of all cricket playing nations to showcase their talents in front of the global crowd. Not many players get the opportunity of displaying their talent at a young age; the ones who do, often end up featuring in this prestigious global mega event. Although many young guns participate in the ICC U19 World Cup, only a few make the headlines and make it even big in their careers and end up becoming legends of the game. Here is a walk down the memory lane as we see the prominent stars being born out of this tournament’s history: ICC U19 World Cup 1988 – Brian Lara (WI) and Michael Atherton (Eng) Brian Lara. (© Getty Images) The Youth Cricket World Cup, as it was popularly known then, was the inaugural edition of the ICC U19 World Cup played in 1988 in Australia. The biggest stars that emerged out of the tournament that was won by Australia were Brian Lara and Michael Atherton. Brian Lara led the West Indies team in the tournament and scored heavily with 222 runs under his belt with a top score of 64. The Windies crashed out in the Semis, but West Indies got their hero. Lara then went on to become one of the greatest of the games. Mike Atherton was in the skipper of the England team and his team too, made it to the semis. He was phenomenal with his captaincy and he later went on to captain the England national team as well, for a record 54 Test matches. ICC U19 World Cup 1998 – Virender Sehwag (Ind) and Chris Gayle (WI) Chris Gayle. (© Getty Images) The 1998 edition of the tournament saw the emergence of Virender Sehwag, the man from Delhi who went on to score two triple hundreds in his Test career. The tournament was played in South Africa and eventually won by England. India, could not make it to the finals due to a low net run rate and neither did Sehwag have a great competition but he got the exposure needed to excel. On the other hand, West Indian Chris Gayle emerged as the top scorer of the tournament with 364 runs and a top score of 141*. The big Jamaican, who now has 16 T20 hundreds to his name, introduced himself in the best possible manner. ICC U19 World Cup 2000 – Brendon McCullum (NZL), Graeme Smith (SA), Yuvraj Singh (Ind) and Michael Clarke (Aus) Yuvraj Singh. (© Getty Images) When the tournament moved to Sri Lanka in 2000, many stars emerged out of the tournament. Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, Mohammad Ashraful, Ian Bell, Mohammad Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Shoaib Malik and Marlon Samuels, were all a part of the tournament. But the most notable ones were Brendon McCullum, Graeme Smith, Yuvraj Singh and Michael Clarke. While Clarke went on to become one of the most successful skippers for Australia and won the ICC World Cup 2015, Brendon McCullum emerged as an absolute leader and a brutal batsman. Yuvraj Singh went on to win matches for India single-handedly and the way Graeme Smith led South Africa to the top of the game was also commendable. Graeme Smith was the top scorer of the tournament with 348 runs at an average of 87. India won the coveted trophy and Yuvraj Singh was named the Player of the Tournament. ICC U19 World Cup 2002 – Hashim Amla (SA) and Ross Taylor (NZL) Hashim Amla. (Photo Source: AFP) Australia emerged as the ultimate winners of the tournament in 2002, played in New Zealand. Dwayne Bravo, Shaun Marsh and Irfan Pathan were the young guns who made the news but the biggest gains were reaped in the form of Hashim Amla and Ross Taylor. Though they didn’t have the greatest of the series, they did come up with occasional blitz in the tournament and had their moments of joy. Amla, since then has 25 Test centuries to his name and Ross Taylor has become the mainstay of the Kiwi middle order batting. ICC U19 World Cup 2004 – Shikhar Dhawan (Ind), Alastair Cook (Eng) and Angelo Mathews (SL) Shikhar Dhawan. (Photo Source: AFP) The tournament was played in Bangladesh and won by Pakistan. Although India couldn’t make it to the finals of the tournament, India’s Shikhar Dhawan made the series his own by being the leading run scorer with 505 runs. His innings of 155* against Scotland U19 was a display of utter dominance and he announced himself at the big stage in a fitting manner. England’s Alastair Cook was yet another big name in the tournament. Cook, later went on to be one of the finest captains of the English Side. Yet another future captain born out of the league was Sri Lanka’s Angelo Mathews. ICC U19 World Cup 2006 – Rohit Sharma (Ind) and David Warner (Aus) Rohit Sharma. (Photo Source: AFP) Pakistan became the first nation to win two successive ICC U19 World Cups when they won the tournament in 2006 played in Sri Lanka. India boasted of players like Cheteshwar Pujara, Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma and made it to the finals of the tournament. Rohit Sharma hit 205 runs at an average of 41 in the tournament. This lad from Mumbai later went on to be one of the finest openers in World Cricket, with two ODI double hundreds to his name. Yet another blazing opener that emerged out of this edition of the championship was Australia’s David Warner. He had a quiet tournament but now he is one of the most feared opening batsmen in World Cricket. ICC U19 World Cup 2008 – Virat Kohli (Ind) and Kane Williamson (NZL) (Photo Source: Getty Images) The 2008 edition of the Word Cup, played in Malaysia, is remembered for the emergence of two of the greatest modern day batsmen of the game, Virat Kohli and Kane Williamson. While Virat Kohli led from the front, scoring a ton against West Indies U19 in the group stages, and eventually lifting the trophy for India against South Africa U19 in the finals, Kane Williamson made his mark too. Kohli is now the Test Captain of Indian team and Williamson has made his name as the Mr. Consistent for the Kiwi lineup. ICC U19 World Cup 2010 – Joe Root (Eng) and Jason Holder (WI) Joe Root. (Photo Source: AFP) Being played in New Zealand, Australia won the 2010 edition of the ICC U19 World Cup by beating Pakistan in the finals. While Ben Stokes hit the limelight with his 88 ball 100 against the India U19, another Englishman Joe Root, quietly moved up the ranks in his career. With 138 runs in the tournament, Root showed his prowess with the bat against Hong Kong, hitting an unbeaten 70. Root is now the backbone of the English middle order in the Tests. Jason Holder, the current West Indies skipper, made his first impression in this tournament by picking up 12 wickets in 6 matches with a best of 5/19. ICC U19 World Cup 2012 – Unmukt Chand (Ind) and Taskin Ahmed (Bang) Unmukt Chand. (© Getty Images) Unmukt Chand might not have made it to the Indian team yet, but his heroics against the Australia U19 in the finals of ICC U19 World Cup, played in Australia, made him an overnight star. Chand scored an unbeaten 111 to take India to a title win. Another young star born out of the tournament was Bangladesh’s pace bowler, Taskin Ahmed. Taskin Ahmed, ever since he made his international debut, has been a consistent performer for the National Side. But yet again, it was this tournament that gave him his launch pad. ICC U19 World Cup 2014 – Mustafizur Rahman (Bang) and Kagiso Rabada (SA) Mustafizur Rahman. (Photo Source: AFP) Two of the most impressive bowlers who emerged last year at the international stage, Mustafizur Rahman and Kagiso Rabada, were the products of the ICC U19 World Cup 2014 held in UAE. South Africa U19 won the tournament, kudos to 14 wickets from Rabada at an economy under 4 and average of a miserly 10.28. He was the second leading wicket taker in the series. Another young fast bowler, who got his first international exposure was Mustafizur Rahman. Rahman has been shining bright in the Bangladesh’s national colors ever since his magnificent ODI debut.

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