5 U19 stars who are masters of their craft in modern-day cricket

The under-19 World Cup has been one of the nurturing grounds for the future cricketers. Many players have represented different countries in the U19 World Cup and have gone on to represent their countries in Senior cricket.

While the likes of Virat Kohli and Kagiso Rabada have gone on to represent their countries India and South Africa respectively, there have been the likes of Imran Tahir who have had a different route. Tahir represented the Pakistan U19 team while playing the World Cup before he went on to represent the South African national team.

Here are some of the top talents from the U19 World Cup who have gone on to become stars of their own:

1. Steve Smith- Australia

Steve Smith started his U19 career as a middle-order batsman, who could bowl the right overs for the Australian team. In the team’s opening game against Namibia, the now Australian skipper scored 39 runs from 57 deliveries. However, his bowling was the key to Australia’s victory as he picked up four wickets conceding only 41 runs.

He followed it up with three more wickets in the next game. However, post that the now Australian skipper remained wicketless as he has stopped bowling given the batting prowess that he has shown of late across formats.

2. Virat Kohli- India

Virat Kohli too made his debut in the U19 World Cup alongside the likes of Steve Smith and Kane Williamson. In the first two games that the right-hander played, his game was fluent even though he did not make substantial contributions.

However, in the third game against West Indies, he made it count scoring a hundred to help his team to a victory. Kohli brought up his century in 74 deliveries, scoring ten boundaries and four sixes. And has only grown as a cricketer ever since.

3. Kane Williamson- New Zealand

This list looks like that of the best batsmen from the 2008 edition, but I kid you not. It arguably brought us the best of batsmen in the form of Australia’s Smith, India’s Kohli and New Zealand’s Kane Williamson.

He had a poor start to his World Cup, as he only scored 14 runs in the opening game against African opponents Zimbabwe. The second game too resulted in a similar fate for the Kiwi batsman as he scored 12 runs. In the quarter-final game, Williamson scored 34 runs while saving his tournament-best for the semis’ where he added 37 runs. Following that the right-hander has gone on to become one of world cricket’s finest batsmen.

4. Joe Root- England

Joe Root originated his career at the top of the order. He made an immediate impact as an opener for England, scoring 70 runs in just 82 balls. In the second game, he made 25.

However, against India Root failed terribly as he could only score four runs in the match. In the quarter-finals, the right-hander bagged a duck as England crashed out of the World Cup. Ever since Root has grown from strength to strength to become one of England’s best modern day batsmen.

5. Kagiso Rabada- South Africa

While all the other players who have featured in the list are batsmen, the last one is one of the world’s premier pacers. Kagiso Rabada played in the 2014 World Cup, picking up 14 wickets in the tournament.

The South African pacer bowled tight lines throughout and was also the most feared bowler in the tournament. He ended the event as the second highest wicket-taker with best figures of 6/25. Steadily, Rabada bowled at a pace of over 85 mph and was considered as the best next prospect for the South African national team.