5 India under-19 players to watch out for

The Indian under-19 team is in a red hot form as they whitewashed England in both Test and ODI series in the UK earlier this month.

The Indian team is easily one of the early favourites to win the under-19 World Cup that will take place in New Zealand next year.

The Indian under-19 side has always produced quite a few gems for the senior side. The likes of Yuvraj Singh, Virat Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara etc. made a mark for themselves in the under-19 World Cup.

Even the current set has few names that have the potential to make it to the big league. Let us take a look at few names to watch out for in the current under-19 team.

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#5 Himanshu Rana

Himanshu Rana plays one through the leg side

Himanshu Rana is one of the most experienced players in the Indian under-19 team as he has already played over 30 matches for Haryana in the domestic circuit.

Having made his first-class debut for Haryana as a 16-year-old, Himanshu has established himself as one of the batting mainstays of his team as he has amassed 697 runs in 20 innings at an average of 37 with the help of 2 centuries and three fifties in the Ranji Trophy.

He also made his T20 debut soon after and has played 11 matches for his state. In spite of making his FC and T20 debut in 2015, the 18-year-old made his List A debut earlier this year and has played just one match in this format.

When England toured India earlier this year, Himanshu added 211 runs in four matches at an average of 53 and a strike-rate of 96 with the help of one ton and one fifty. He couldn't repeat his heroics in England this month as he managed just 82 runs in four matches at an average of 20.5.

The Indian team will need his experience at the top of the order when they travel to New Zealand to conquer the world next year.

#4 Kamlesh Nagarkoti

Kamlesh Nagarkoti in action against England

Kamalesh Nagarkoti made a name for himself when he took a hat-trick to win a match for his team, Rajasthan in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game against the defending Champions Gujarat earlier this year.

The all-rounder was rewarded for his efforts with a place in the Indian side (under 23s) for the Emerging Players' Asia Cup tournament that took place earlier this year and had a decent outing in the tournament that saw him pick four wickets in three matches.

The 17-year-old made a name for himself much before he took the hat-trick in the Vijay Hazare trophy as he ran riot with both bat and ball when England under-19 team toured India earlier this year.

He took seven wickets in three matches at an average of 13 and an economy of 4.3 with the ball and with the bat, he scored some important runs down the order. His 81 runs in three innings at an average of 40.5 with a strike-rate of 92 were very crucial for India in deciding the outcome of the series.

When the Boys in Blue toured England, he had a below par outing as he managed to take just three wickets in four matches and managed to score 32 runs in two innings in the five-match ODI series.

In spite of this, Nagarkoti is very crucial for India in the 2018 under-19 World Cup, where he will be spearheading the Indian bowling challenge.

#3 Rahul Chahar

Rahul Chahar celebrates after taking a wicket

Wrist spinner is always an asset to any team in the limited-overs format. The case is not different with the 18-year-old from Rajasthan. He is already a household name among the Indian fans as he was part of the Rising Pune Supergiant team in the tenth edition of the IPL.

He picked just two wickets in two matches at an average of over 8. To be fair, not every 17-year-old is someone like Washington Sundar to keep the World's best at bay. Even Washington got a decent run in the playing XI before calling the shots. Rahul was given just three matches and didn't bowl in one of them.

His save on the boundary line against Gujarat Lions was one of the moments of the tournament. Just like Himanshu Rana, he made his first-class debut at the age of 16 and has played a total of 10 games so far.

In the recently-concluded tour of England, Rahul picked up 10 wickets in four matches at an average of 15.2 and an economy of 4.18. He also picked six wickets in three matches when England toured India earlier this year.

Rahul will be very crucial for India in the middle overs when the team wants to choke the opposition's run flow and has the ability to chip in with few wickets.

#2 Prithvi Shaw

Skipper Prithvi Shaw with the trophy after beating England 5-0

Prithvi Shaw came into the limelight when he scored 546 runs off 330 balls for his school team Rizvi Springfield in a Harris Shield match, the highest score in any form of the game since 1901.

Since then, there has been no turning back for the Mumbaikar as he is hailed as the future of Indian batting. He did live up to the reputation as his performances earned him a place in the Mumbai Ranji team ahead of a crucial semi-final against their arch-rivals Tamil Nadu earlier this year.

He scored a century on debut and became the second youngest Mumbai batsman after Sachin Tendulkar to do so. He was appointed as the captain of the Indian under-19 team and will look to lead by example in the World Cup.

He scored 160 runs in five innings at an average of 32 and a strike-rate of over 100 in the recently-concluded series in England and managed to score 126 runs in three innings @ 42 when the Poms toured India earlier this year.

He is easily better than what the numbers suggest and he will look to take inspiration from Virat Kohli make a statement in the World Cup next year.

#1 Shubman Gill

Shubman Gill had a brilliant series in England

278 runs in just four innings at 93 runs per innings and a strike-rate of over 100, scored by batsman Shubman Gill in the five-match ODI series in England earlier this month. His domination is quite evident by the fact that the next best batsman from both the sides has scored just 160 runs in five innings, one innings more than Shubman.

This is not the first time Shubman has scored a lot of runs in an ODI series as he scored 351 runs in just 4 innings at an average of 117 and a strike-rate of 105 when England toured India earlier this year.

Shubman is someone who is tailor-made for the List A format as he has the knack of pacing his innings. The 17-year-old is set to lead India's challenge in the under-19 World Cup next year.