7 Players who surprisingly didn't play the ICC U19 World Cup for India

The ICC U19 World Cup has turned out to be an amazing platform for youngsters to show their talent to the world. It is the perfect platform for teenagers to represent their country in a World Cup like atmosphere. The tournament has been the stepping stone for many world-class players.

Players like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul have featured in this competition. In recent times, players like Ishan Kishan, Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer have also exhibited their talent.

India has always been a dominating force in the ICC U19 World Cup and has won 4 titles. It is the most successful team in the history of the tournament. It is quite obvious that they have been so good in the tournament because they have always carried the future Indian stars with them.

All the U19 World Cups have seen India come back with emerging stars. Right from Virender Sehwag to Virat Kohli to Prithvi Shaw, all have been amazing. However, it isn't rosy for all the players as, a few of the stars in World Cup fail in the domestic circuit and as a result, are ignored by selectors.

However, not all current team India stars have represented the country in the U19 World Cup. They were ignored by the selectors but later on, they were selected for the senior team and became vital cogs of the Indian team.

Here we shall have a look at 7 such players who surprisingly didn't play for India in the U19 World Cup.

#7 Ravichandran Ashwin

The Tamil Nadu born spinner has been a phenomenal success for the Indian team. He was India's premier spinner in all formats before the likes of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal rose in the limited overs format. However, he still remains India's premier spinner in Test matches.

He has bowled India to several victories and he is one of the best in test matches. He has bowled 269 times for India and picked up 526 wickets in all. In addition to his bowling, his batting in test matches has also been an asset. He has represented India in 2 ICC World Cups.

#6 Yuzvendra Chahal

2nd Momentum ODI: South Africa v India — Yuzvendra Chahal

The leg-spinner has been a revelation for the Indian team. He was an unknown commodity until he joined RCB but after that, his career changed. He was a U16 Chess player for India but changed to cricket, and hasn't looked back since.

The Haryana born lad is still a newbie on the International scene and has only played 52 matches for India. All of them have been in the Limited Over games and he has picked up 87 wickets for India. Currently, he is one of India's linchpins in ODI's and T20I's.

#5 Ajinkya Rahane

Australia v India - Game 3 — Ajinkya Rahane

The Mumbai born player will perhaps, go down as one of the most underutilized and underestimated cricketers to have played for India. He is an opening batsman in the limited overs format and bats in the middle order when the team requires him to do so. He is a middle-order batsman in the test cricket, a format in which he has truly shone.

The Rajasthan Royals' skipper has scored 6388 runs in 189 innings at an average of 37, for India.

#4 Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India v South Africa - ICC Champions Trophy — Bhuvneshwar Kumar

The 'Swing King' is one of the best pacers in the world. He has had a stop-start career and after 5-6 years, he has established himself as India's best bowler. He is lethal with the new ball and can swing it both ways whereas, in the death overs, he is deadly with his toe-crushers.

The Sunrisers Hyderabad star has bowled 152 times for India and has picked up 182 wickets.

#3 Jasprit Bumrah

He is the second half of India's world-class pace attack. He has formed a potent partnership with Bhuvi and he has also made a name for himself as one of the best in the world. He is very famous for his bowling in the death overs. His slower balls and yorkers have the ability to control the best of batsmen from scoring runs.

The 24-year-old has bowled 80 times for India and has already picked up 128 wickets. If he continues to develop his game at the same rate, he will not be far from being hailed as one of the best bowlers in the history of cricket.

#2 Hardik Pandya

England v India - 2nd ODI: Royal London One-Day Series — Hardik Pandya

His rise to the top has been a phenomenal journey. The Mumbai Indians all-rounder has established himself as a key part of India and provides India with the type of player, India has been searching since, Irfan Pathan's decline. He is an explosive batsman and has the knack of picking up wickets at crucial junctures.

He has scored 1469 runs in 65 innings for India, he has bowled 91 times for India and has picked up 89 wickets. The reason Hardik couldn't represent India at the U19 World Cup was the lack of a platform to establish himself before the event.

#1 MS Dhoni

Winning Captain's Press Conference - 2011 ICC World Cup — MS Dhoni

The best wicket-keeper batsman India has ever produced, one of the best finishers in the world, a calm and composed captain. These features describe MSD's greatness in a nutshell. He will go down as one of the best captains India has ever had. He led India to the ICC World Cup, ICC World T20 and the Champions Trophy.

He is an amazing goalkeeper and has been instrumental in India's success. Captain Cool has scored 16904 runs in 498 innings for India and has affected 788 dismissals as a wicketkeeper. It puzzles a lot of people as to why was Dhoni left out of the U19 squad.

Send us news tips at [email protected].