5 players who you didn't know played the Under-19 World Cup with Sam Konstas ft. Musheer Khan

Sam Konstas grabbed the headlines with his fantastic performance for Australia in the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against India. The young opener made his Test debut in the Boxing Day Test in front of over 80,000 fans at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).

Konstas showed no nerves at all and took the world-class Indian pace bowling attack, including world number one bowler Jasprit Bumrah, to the cleaners. He scored a half-century in his first Test innings, ensuring Australia had the upper hand straightaway in the MCG Test.

During the series, Sam Konstas had heated verbal exchanges with several Indian players. At one point, star Indian player Virat Kohli even had a shoulder bump with him.

It is pertinent to note that just 11 months before the Boxing Day Test, Sam Konstas was playing in the U-19 World Cup 2024 for Australia. The Aussies won that tournament by defeating India in the final. Here's a look at five players who you didn't know played in the U-19 World Cup with Sam Konstas.

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#1 Musheer Khan played in U-19 World Cup 2024 with Sam Konstas

Sarfaraz Khan was a part of the Indian squad in the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series. Sarfaraz's younger brother Musheer is also a professional cricketer, and he represented India U-19s in the U-19 World Cup 2024.

Musheer was the second-highest run-scorer in the mega event. Playing for India U-19s, the young batter aggregated 360 runs in seven innings at a strike rate of 98.09. He will turn up for the Punjab Kings in the upcoming IPL season.

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#2 Arshin Kulkarni

Hailing from Solapur, young all-rounder Arshin Kulkarni performed brilliantly for India U-19s in the U-19 World Cup 2024. Kulkarni scored 189 runs in seven matches, including one century.

His right-arm medium pace helped him scalpe four wickets in the five innings where he bowled. Mumbai Indians skipper Hardik Pandya sent Arshin a message on Instagram after being impressed by his heroics in the U-19 World Cup 2024.

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#3 Aravelly Avinash Rao

Young wicketkeeper Aravelly Avinash Rao came into the limelight when the Chennai Super Kings signed him for ₹20 lakh at the IPL 2024 Auction. Rao received a golden opportunity to learn from MS Dhoni.

The youngster was India's first-choice wicketkeeper in the U-19 World Cup 2024. However, his performance was not that impressive as he managed only 84 runs in seven innings at an average of 16.8.

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#4 Kwena Maphaka

South African speedster Kwena Maphaka was the highest wicket-taker in the U-19 World Cup 2024. Maphaka played only six games in the mega event, but he took full advantage of the home conditions and finished with 21 wickets to his name.

Soon after, Mumbai Indians roped him in as a replacement signing in IPL 2024. However, the youngster had a forgettable debut, where he leaked 66 runs off four wicketless overs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad.

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#5 Ali Raza

Ali Raza is a 16-year-old pacer from Pakistan. Born on March 18, 2008, Raza emerged as a game-changer for Pakistan U-19s in U-19 World Cup 2024, picking up nine wickets in just three matches.

It should not be a surprise if Raza makes his Test debut before turning 20 just like Sam Konstas. Raza has been a part of Peshawar Zalmi in the PSL tournament.