What happened to U-19 captains after Virat Kohli?

Earlier, for getting into the Indian team, a cricketer had to go through the long process of impressing at the club level, getting selected to the state Ranji squad and toiling hard for many years in the domestic circuit to get a chance in the Indian team. In most of these cases, the opportunity would turn out to be for a short time and if the player could not capitalize on it, he might have to start it all over again.

However, the time has changed now as the youngsters are getting to showcase their talent simultaneously on platforms such as the IPL, Ranji Trophy, and the U-19 squad.

After Virat Kohli's phenomenal rise as a cricket player after leading the U-19 India squad to victory, many players have graduated to the senior squad. Such is the importance given to the U-19 squad that one of India's best batsman, Rahul Dravid has been appointed as the coach of the U-19 squad. There is always a hype going around the captain of the team in the U-19 World Cup after Virat's success from the same level.

While some have been successful, the others are still toiling in the domestic circuit and the latest entrant could emulate Virat Kohli too. Find out more about U-19 players after Virat Kohli who led India in the U-19 World Cup.

# ASHOK MENARIA - 2010 WORLD CUP

Although Virat Kohli was still a budding cricketer with the Indian team in 2010, the U-19 team for the World Cup that year was expected to repeat the heroics of their predecessors. Ashok Menaria, the talented middle-order batting all-rounder from Rajasthan was considered as an India prospect when he was selected as the captain.

Though he was impressive in the beginning, Menaria was not able to fulfill his potential in the later games. He wasn't up to the mark in the IPL where he represented his home franchise Rajasthan Royals. India needed a player like him for the future during that time but Menaria did not turn out to be the player he was expected to be. He is still playing in the domestic level and he can still make comeback through the IPL.

# UNMUKT CHAND - 2012 WORLD CUP

Unmukt Chand was the most hyped U-19 captain ever

Virat Kohli was well established as an India cricketer and this mounted pressure on the Delhi lad. Unmukt did not disappoint as he scored a brilliant century against Australia in the final of the U-19 World Cup to repeat his statemate's feat from 4 years ago.

Unmukt was a hot property in the IPL in the subsequent auction. However, even after representing teams like Delhi Daredevils and Mumbai Indians, Unmukt was never able to be a consistent part of any IPL team.

He never got his opportunity with the Indian team and soon his form deteriorated. He was even dropped from his state team too. Although he has recently made a comeback to his state team, he isn't close to the form which he had during the initial days of his career. To represent to India team, it will be a long journey as many of U-19 teammates such as Hanuma Vihari have already created tight competition within the team.

# VIJAY ZOL - 2014 WORLD CUP

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It was the time when Virat Kohli was becoming the poster boy of Indian cricket. When Vijay Zol was picked up by the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL auctions ahead of local boys like KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal, the expectations on the Maharastra batsman reached a peak.

Everyone started to compare this left-hander to Virat but he had a mediocre U-19 World Cup. His U-19 teammates like Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, and Sanju Samson have already represented India but Zol has been struggling in the domestic circuit.

He failed to find an IPL team after RCB and hence has never fallen into the radar of the national selectors. Although his part-time off-spin coupled with his batting skills could have been a suitable backup to Yuvraj Singh, Vijay Zol crumbled under the expectations.He now has a very long road to make it to the Indian team.

# ISHAN KISHAN - 2016 WORLD CUP

Ishan Kishan has good chances of playing for India

The words "Jharkhand", "wicketkeeper" and "India captain" are usually associated with a household name called Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

Ishan Kishan is also being associated with those words as he led the U-19 team to the final of the 2016 World Cup. Kishan has had a decent IPL career with Gujurat Lions and Mumbai Indians so far and also had a successful Vijay Hazare Trophy with Jharkhand this year.

He was excellent in the Deodhar Trophy too due to which he could get a call-up to the senior squad in the future.

Although Rishabh Pant has been groomed as MS Dhoni's successor, Ishan Kishan could be a good backup too, given the similarity in his batting style with MS Dhoni. Ishaan Kishan will have a crucial IPL next season as he will have to compete with Quinton De Kock for the wicketkeeping duties in Mumbai Indians. If he impresses next season, an India call-up will follow very soon.

PRITHVI SHAW - 2018 WORLD CUP

Prithvi Shaw is being touted as the next big thing in cricket

Probably after a decade, the U-19 captain of the Indian team has come close to the talent of Virat Kohli. After leading India to a World Cup win, Prithvi Shaw has been piling on the runs in the domestic level and now for the Indian team too.

Shaw had a decent IPL with Delhi Daredevils this season and he could be their main man next season. If Prithvi Shaw can perform well in the Australia Test series, he could cement a place in India's squad for at least a few years.

It is to be noted that Prithvi Shaw's rise as a nine-year-old cricketing sensation coincided with Virat Kohli's emergence with a U-19 World Cup win in 2008. They are now playing together and Prithvi could be the player to take the baton forward from Virat Kohli, who had himself earlier taken it from Sachin Tendulkar.