4 players who won 2018 U-19 World Cup with Shubman Gill but are yet to make it big
Shubman Gill was the vice-captain of the Indian squad that won the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2018. Gill starred in India's triumph and ended up being the second-highest run-getter in the tournament with 372 runs in five innings. The India U-19 vice-captain smashed one century and three half-centuries in the 2018 edition of the mega event.
Five years down the line, Shubman Gill is the highest-ranked Indian in the ICC ODI Rankings for batters. The rising star has earned the nickname of 'Prince of Indian Cricket' due to his phenomenal batting performances.
Shubman Gill is now a regular member of the ODI team. It looks like he will open the batting for India in the 2023 World Cup alongside Rohit Sharma.
Earlier this year, he became the youngest double centurion in ODI cricket history, and it should not be a surprise if he becomes the world number one ODI batter in the near future.
While Shubman Gill has made it big after playing in the 2018 U-19 World Cup, four of his Indian teammates are struggling right now. Here's a list of the four names.
#1 Manjot Kalra
Manjot Kalra was the third-highest run-scorer for India U-19s in the 2018 U-19 World Cup, behind Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw. Kalra scored a match-winning century for the team in the U-19 World Cup 2018 final against Australia U-19s. He also earned an IPL contract from the Delhi Capitals.
However, things went downhill for Kalra when he was involved in an age fraud in 2019. DDCA suspended him from the Ranji Trophy. The left-handed batter has managed to play only one List-A match and two T20 matches in his domestic career so far. He played his last match for the Delhi domestic cricket team in 2021.
#2 Shiva Singh
Left-arm spinner Shiva Singh was one of the top performers for India U-19s in that mega event. Singh picked up four wickets in six matches at an economy rate of 3.23. He also scored 14 runs with the bat.
Singh represents Uttar Pradesh in domestic cricket. He has played one first-class match, seven List-A matches and 15 T20s in his career. While Singh has decent numbers in domestic cricket, he is yet to play in the IPL or at the senior international level.
#3 Pankaj Yadav
Pankaj Yadav was a surprise pick in India's squad for the U-19 World Cup 2018. The son of a milkman, Pankaj was just 15 years old when he was named in the team for the mega event.
The leg-spinner played only one match in the warm-up round of the tournament, where he neither batted nor bowled. He did not play any games in the main competition. Yadav's last professional match was against Kuwait U-19s in the 2019 ACC U-19 Asia Cup, and he is yet to play domestic cricket for any team.
#4 Aditya Thakare
Aditya Thakare joined the India U-19s as a cover for Ishan Porel in the 2018 U-19 World Cup. He did not play any matches in the tournament but was teammates with Shubman Gill and others for a brief time.
Thakare is a right-arm pacer who plays domestic cricket for Vidarbha. He has played 14 first-class games, 12 List-A matches and four T20s thus far. It will be interesting to see if the Vidarbha pacer can make it big in the coming days.