5 Indian players who played in 2006 U-19 World Cup with Rohit Sharma but faded away
Rohit Sharma is the vice-captain of the Indian white-ball team at the moment. Many consider him one of the best skippers in the cricket world right now. The right-handed batsman has won the Nidahas Trophy, Asia Cup and five IPL trophies as captain.
But not many fans would remember that Rohit Sharma played for India U-19s in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2006. The Indian U-19s reached the summit clash of that tournament, where they lost to Pakistan U-19s. The likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Cheteshwar Pujara, Shahbaz Nadeem, Ishant Sharma, and Piyush Chawla played in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2006 along with Rohit Sharma.
While the above-mentioned names have done well in their careers, the following five U-19 teammates of Rohit Sharma faded away after a promising start.
1. Gaurav Dhiman
All-rounder Gaurav Dhiman played a pivotal role in the success of India U-19s at ICC U-19 World Cup 2006. He amassed 222 runs and picked up four wickets in six matches.
Dhiman was a pace-bowling all-rounder. He received IPL contracts from Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore. However, he could not capitalize on the start he got at the U-19 level.
2. Pinal Shah
Pinal Shah was the wicket-keeper of the India U-19 team in the 2006 U-19 World Cup. Shah played in all six games, but he got an opportunity to bat only twice, where he scored 16 runs.
Shah achieved success in domestic cricket, where he scored 3,409 runs in 93 first-class games. However, he could not play big knocks consistently. As a result, the wicket-keeper never made it to the senior Indian team. A former Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals squad member, Shah played his last first-class match for Baroda in December 2018.
3. Yo Mahesh
Vijaykumar Yo Mahesh was one of the most successful Indian bowlers in ICC U-19 World Cup 2006. He picked up 11 wickets in six matches for India U-19s, with his best figures being 4/25.
Mahesh played in the IPL for the Chennai Super Kings and the Delhi Capitals (then Delhi Daredevils). He took 108 wickets and scored 1,119 runs in 50 first-class games before calling it a day on his career.
4. Rohit Sharma's former Mumbai Indians teammate Abu Nechim Ahmed
Rohit Sharma and Abu Nechim Ahmed played for India U-19s in the ICC U-19 World Cup 2006. Five years later, they reunited in the Mumbai Indians squad. Ahmed is a right-arm pace bowler from Assam.
Apart from Mumbai, Ahmed also played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. He took 12 wickets in 17 IPL games. However, his inconsistency led to his exit from the league. Recently, Ahmed turned up for Assam in the 2020-21 Vijay Hazare Trophy.
5. Debabrata Das
Debabrata Das scored 30 runs in four innings of ICC U-19 World Cup 2006. He was not as successful as Rohit Sharma in the tournament, but Das earned a contract from the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.
He played 31 matches in his IPL career, aggregating 304 runs at a strike rate of close to 115. Das played domestic cricket until 2019, but he could not score more than 1,000 runs in any of the three formats for Bengal. He was a decent finisher, but his inconsistency hurt him.