3 players from India's 2012 U19 World Cup-winning squad who surprisingly haven't played international cricket ft. Baba Aparajith
On this day, August 26, 2012, India lifted the U19 World Cup by defeating hosts Australia in the final by six wickets. India’s campaign got off to a disappointing start as they went down to West Indies by four wickets in their opening match at the Tony Ireland Stadium in Townsville (all the games were played at the same venue).
The Men in Blue, however, recovered in brilliant fashion and remained unbeaten en route to clinching the title. India hammered Zimbabwe by 63 runs and Papua New Guinea by 107 runs to seal their berth in the knockouts.
They took on arch-rivals Pakistan in their quarter-final match of the 2012 U19 World Cup. In a close contest, India prevailed by one wicket, chasing down 137 in 48 overs. They registered a nine-run over New Zealand in their semi-final clash before chasing down 226 against Australia in the final in emphatic fashion.
A lot of talented youngsters from the 2012 U19 World squad were expected to go on and play for the senior team but haven’t. We look at three such names.
#1 Unmukt Chand
The name of Unmukt Chand, who captained the 2012 U19 World Cup side in brilliant fashion, instantly comes to mind. Chand was India’s leading run-getter in the tournament, scoring 246 runs in six innings at an average of 49.20, with one hundred and one fifty.
The elegant batter scored 78 off 85 balls in the group match against Zimbabwe but reserved his best for the final. Chand guided the chase of 226 with a mature 111* off 130 balls, an innings which featured seven fours and six sixes.
Unfortunately, the right-handed batter could not replicate his success at the domestic level. Once drawing comparisons with Virat Kohli, he retired from Indian cricket at the age of 28 in 2021 after signing a multi-year deal with Major League Cricket (MLC) in America.
Chand played 67 first-class games, scoring 3379 runs at an average of 31.57, with eight hundreds. He also featured in 120 List A matches, scoring 4505 runs at an average of 41.33, notching up seven hundreds.
#2 Baba Aparajith
Tamil Nadu batting all-rounder Baba Aparajith also had an impressive 2012 U19 World Cup campaign. He contributed 171 runs from six matches at an average of 28.50. With his off-spin bowling, he chipped in with five wickets, maintaining an excellent economy rate of 3.59.
Aparajith was the Player of the Match for his hard-fought 51 off 97 balls as India clinched a low-scoring thriller against Pakistan in the quarter-final. He also picked up the big wicket of Babar Azam, who had scored 50. The all-rounder was the Player of the Match in the semis as well. He contributed 44 off 61 with the bat and registered figures of 1/29 with the ball in 10 overs.
Now 29, Aparajith is a highly dependable all-rounder for Tamil Nadu in domestic cricket. In 90 first-class matches, he has scored 4571 runs at an average of 38.73, with 11 hundreds. With the ball in hand, he has claimed 61 scalps. Aparajith has also featured in 100 List A games, scoring 3768 runs and picking up 61 wickets.
#3 Smit Patel
Former Gujarat keeper-batter Smit Patel was another hero of India’s 2012 U19 World Cup triumph. In fact, he was the team’s second-leading run-getter in the tournament, contributing 178 runs from six innings at an average of 59.33.
He kicked off the World Cup with 50 off 97 in the four-wicket loss to West Indies in India’s opening match. Patel’s second half-century came in the final when he contributed an unbeaten 62 off 84 balls, adding an unbroken 130 for the fifth wicket with skipper Chand.
Patel featured in 55 first-class games, scoring 3278 runs at an average of 39.49, with 11 hundreds. He also notched up 1234 in 43 List A matches. However, like Chand, the keeper-batter retired from Indian cricket at the age of 28 to pursue a career in the game in the USA.