U19 World Cup 2018: Five players to watch out for

The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is hardly a week away and will certainly have a large number of cricket fans glued to their television sets through its length. This tournament has produced the likes of Virat Kohli, Umar Akmal, Kane Williamson, and several other international superstars. As the cricketing fraternity across the globe awaits the rise of the next star, we take a look at five players who can possibly make it big this time around.

#1 Jason Sangha (Australia)

Sangha will lead the Australian side in the World Cup

The skipper of the Australia side for the upcoming U19 World Cup, Jason Sangha, is certainly no stranger to playing at the highest level cricket. When Joe Root’s England came visited Australia in November, Sangha smashed an impressive 133 at Townsville in Adelaide.

This century came against a world-class bowling attack comprising of Stuart Broad, Chris Woakes, and Mason Crane.

The significance of this century was the fact that he became the second youngest player to smash a first-class ton, second to none other than the great Sachin Tendulkar.

He has also impressed in the two matches he has played for New South Wales in so far.

#2 Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)

Shaheen Afridi

This 17-year old Pakistan all-rounder, Shaheen Afridi, shot to fame when his impressive left-arm medium pace picked up figures of 8/39 in his first game of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy.

To date, they are the best figures for any player on debut. Although the surname does sound familiar, this Afridi resembles the likes of Mohammad Irfan as he stands at six feet six inches.

Primarily a bowler, he boasts of good technique with the bat as well and can score quick runs down the order, when required.

Despite not having any relation with former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi, Shaheen is the younger brother of Riaz Afridi, who played one Test match for Pakistan against Sri Lanka in Karachi.

#3 Harry Brook (England)

U/19 Tri Series: South Africa v England

The 18-year old England skipper has been one of the most impressive batsmen in the county circuit of late. Brook has recently been awarded a full-time contract with county club, Yorkshire. He made his debut at for them at the prestigious Lords and has smashed several centuries at the junior level as well.

He lead the youth England team when they toured India and when the Indians toured England as well. He was particularly impressive in the tour of South Africa.

He shone with both bat and ball by the end of last year with two half-centuries, a century, and six wickets to his name.

#4 Kamindu Mendis (Sri Lanka)

Kamindu Mendis

Having made the Sri Lanka youth squad for the 2016 edition of the tournament as a 16-year old, Kamindu Mendis rejoins their ranks as captain of the side this time around. He played for Galle in the Sri Lankan domestic cricket system and is a stylish and impressive left-handed batsman.

However, his interesting trait lies in his bowling where he is considered by many to be ‘ambidextrous’. He bowls orthodox left-arm spin as well as right-arm off-spin apart in addition to his handy batting abilities.

#5 Prithvi Shaw (India)

England U19's v India U19's - 5th ODI

Most of India has been awaiting the arrival of Prithvi Shaw on the international stage.

The young batsman from Mumbai was at the centre of the recently-released documentary ‘Beyond Boundaries’, wherein he has been compared to Tendulkar following his exploits in the Haris Shield tournament in Mumbai.

Similar to most of the Indian side, Shaw also has plenty of experience at the first-class level. He is the captain of India's under-19 side and will look to repeat India's exploits in the 2012 World Cup in this tournament.