Indian cricket has had much success in the past few years at the Under-19 World Cup. After a barren spell of 8 years, the team under Virat Kohli triumphed in Kuala Lumpur and then four years later, Unmukt Chand-led side won the title in Australia.
Here we look at 8 Indian players, who made their international debuts the same year as they played the Under-19 World Cups:
8.Jaydev Unadkat
The Saurashtra cricketer was part of India’s Under-19 setup for the 2010 Under-19 World Cup, where in 4 matches he picked up 8 wickets as India failed to make a serious impression in the competition.
Later that year, the senior Indian squad picked the young man as a backup seamer for the winter’s tour to South Africa and after Zaheer Khan was ruled out of the opening Test match in Centurion, made his Test debut.
It proved to be a forgettable outing for the cricketer, as he was smashed all over the park by the South Africans, finishing with figures of 0 for 101 in his 26 overs. That remains his only Test for India so far.
7.Piyush Chawla
The Uttar Pradesh leg-spinner was part of the 2006 Under 19 World Cup squad, held in Sri Lanka and had a splendid competition, picking up 13 wickets in 6 matches to finish as India's highest wicket-taker.
20 days after that tournament, the youngster was handed a Test debut against England in Mohali.
Chawla did not have the greatest of debuts with the ball, picking up the lone wicket of Andrew Flintoff even as India won the game by 9 wickets.
6.Parthiv Patel
The Gujarat stumper was part of the Indian squad for the 2002 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand, where he made 184 runs in 7 matches.
A few months post that event, Patel was handed a maiden India cap against England in Trent Bridge and in the second innings of that game, he stitched together a match-saving partnership of 23 runs with Zaheer Khan, 19 of which coming from his bat.
His performance drew much praise from all quarters and in the 15 years gone-by, Patel has played 43 international matches for India and made a Test comeback in the series against England last year.
5.Harbhajan Singh
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The Punjab off-spinner was part of the Indian Under 19 setup for the 1998 World Cup, where he took 8 wickets in 6 matches at an economy rate of 3.44. A couple of months later, he was selected in the Indian playing XI to face Australia in the third Test of the series in Bengaluru, where he picked up figures of 2 for 112 in 23 overs.
A few days later, he made his ODI debut for India against the same opposition in Sharjah. After Anil Kumble, Harbhajan has the most number of wickets for India in their Test history and even now, continues to play domestic cricket, in order to stake a claim once again in the Indian setup.
4.Dinesh Karthik
In the 2004 Under-19 World Cup, India, led by Ambati Rayudu reached the semifinal of the competition, where they lost to Pakistan. The wicket-keeper in that squad was 18-year-old Dinesh Karthik from Tamil Nadu, who made 163 runs in 7 matches to provide the much-needed assistance in the middle-order.
Later that year, the team, in desperate need to find a regular gloveman to replace Rahul Dravid, picked Karthik for a short trip to England.
He made his debut in the third game of that series and effected a memorable stumping of Michael Vaughan to kick start his career.
3.Mohammad Kaif
Mohammad Kaif is among the few Indian players, who has played in two Under-19 World Cups. He tasted success in the second of those events when he captained India to the title in January 2000.
A couple oof months post the triumph, Kaif was handed the India Test cap at the age of 19 against South Africa in Bengaluru, where he made scores of 12 and 23 in the two innings.
The right-hander went on to play 13 Tests and 125 ODIs for India and took over as the assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions earlier this year.
2.Virat Kohli
When Virat Kohli embarked for Kuala Lumpur for the Under 19 World Cup in 2008, he had already created an image for himself as this player, who could put adversity aside and focus on the game, when a couple of years earlier, he had played a Ranji trophy game for Delhi against Karnataka after performing the last rites of his father.
In 2008, he went one notch further up when he led a bunch of young stars to glory at the Under 19 World Cup in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, thereby bringing a barren run of 8 years of no glory at the event, to an end.
Later that year, Team India led by MS Dhoni went to Sri Lanka for a Tests and limited-overs tour.
Sachin Tendulkar suffered an injury early on and Kohli was picked in playing XI for the 1st game. On his ODI debut, the then 19-year-old made 12 runs with the bat.
1.Yuvraj Singh
The Punjab left-hander was part of the Indian setup for the 2000 Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka and was India's second highest run-getter in the competition with 203 runs in 8 matches at an average of 33, eventually featuring in the side that lifted the trophy.
Later that year, India embarked on a trip to Kenya for the ICC Knockout Trophy and Yuvraj was one of the few youngsters picked for the event.
He sparkled in the few chances that he got, making a superb 84 against Australia to help the Men In Blue enter the semifinals. Safe to say, the left-hander has not looked back since.
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