ICC Under-19 cricket World Cup has always been an event which cricket enthusiast and experts around the world have an eye on. Like most of the other Test playing nations, some of India’s current Test stars like Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara & Ravindra Jadeja, first came into prominence with their exploits in U-19 World Cup.
On the flip side, few others like Yuvraj Singh, who is a modern day great when it comes to limited overs cricket, haven’t been able to establish himself in the test arena. Players like Md. Kaif, Ajay Ratra, Piyush Chawla, Venugopal Rao, RS Sodhi have taken to the field in India colours but couldn’t really create a space for themselves.
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All said and done, age group cricket has always thrown up exciting talents which prompted the writer to pen down an article “India’s Rising Stars” earmarking “seven wonders” of 2012 batch of India U-19 squad who were instrumental in India being crowned Junior World Champions.
Five years down the line, we assess where these youngsters stand today based on the early promise they had displayed.
#1 Unmukt Chand
Not only his run scoring ability but his temperament to stay calm under pressure and deliver those crucial hundreds at the junior level to go with his astute leadership, is what separated Unmukt Chand from the rest. One thought it was only a matter of time before he would graduate to the senior team.
However, in his 56 first-class games, the Delhi youngster has a modest average in the early 30s, which doesn’t really make selectors sit up and take notice. On the flip side, with age on his side, a couple of consistent seasons and Unmukt may well come into the national reckoning.
#2 Harmeet Singh
Harmeet, who was eulogised by none other than Ian Chappell during the Under 19 World Cup in Australia, had a great start to his first-class career. Representing Mumbai, he pocketed 17 wickets in his first 3 matches & one thought like Harbhajan Singh, Harmeet too will catapult quickly to the senior Indian team.
However, he was surprisingly dropped by Mumbai and later embroiled in IPL Spot-fixing controversy, from which he was subsequently cleared of any wrongdoing. He is currently representing Jammu & Kashmir in Ranji Trophy to resurrect his fledging career.
#3 Smit Patel
Smit made an impact both in front and behind the wickets during India’s U-19 World Cup campaign in 2012.Being a keeper-batsman it was difficult to get a game in his home state – Gujarat in the Ranji trophy, which prompted him to make a move to Tripura as a professional.
He is yet to create waves on the domestic scene and with two youngsters in Rishabh Pant & Ishan Kishan, both keeper-batsman, making headlines for all the right reasons this season, road ahead for Smit is tough, albeit not impossible.
#4 Sandeep Sharma
Sandeep Sharma is the only one of the “seven wonders” of India’s successful U-19 World Cup Campaign to have represented senior Indian team in two T20 Internationals. He has 138 wickets in 35 first-class matches at a decent average of 24.
He is a regular member of the IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab and if he adds a yard or two of pace coupled with his ability to swing the ball, he can surely break into the Indian team.
#5 Baba Aparajith
This crisis boy of India’s U-19 campaign in 2012 has five hundreds and 14 fifties in 56 first class matches at an average of 37. This shows that Aparajith’s conversion rate is not something which makes headlines.
However, having made his first-class debut at the age of 17 speaks volumes of the talent that he possesses. It is perhaps the hunger for big scores which he needs to develop and once he starts converting fifties into hundreds, an India call can’t be far away, given that he is a pretty handy bowler too.
#6 Prashant Chopra
Amongst the batsmen from 2012 U-19 batch, Prashant Chopra has the best first class batting average at 45.40 in 32 games. He had a mixed Ranji Trophy in 2016-17 where a string of low scores was interspersed with a career-best 237 and then a 194.
He doesn’t have a white ball strike-rate which could excite IPL scouts & therefore, a larger platform outside of national colours to showcase his skills, eludes him. Only way for him to break into the zonal & national selector’s radar is to score big in the domestic circuit.
#7 Ravikant Singh
Made his List A debut for Bengal in 2012 post U-19 World Cup and after one match, he has not represented any domestic team in any format. He seems to have gone into oblivion.
These individuals & many other talented boys have learnt that the gulf which exists between junior and first class level is quite profound. However, on a brighter note, the man who is in charge of the junior Indian side currently, Rahul Dravid, has the right approach and under his tutelage, there is no doubt that more and more juniors will graduate to the next level as finished products.
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