India's 2018 U-19 WC Winning Team: Where are they now?
India U-19s will play the 2022 U-19 World Cup final against England U-19s tomorrow at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. The Indian team has won four U-19 World Cups so far, with the last one coming in 2018.
The Boys in Blue started the competition that year by defeating hosts Australia U-19s and ended it with a win over the home team in the final. They were placed in Group B alongside Australia U-19s, Zimbabwe U-19s and Papua New Guinea U-19s.
Playing under Prithvi Shaw, the Boys in Blue won all three group matches by big margins to set up a quarterfinal against Bangladesh U-19s. They destroyed the Bangladeshi team by 131 runs and crushed Pakistan U-19s by 203 runs thereafter in the semifinals.
In the final, India U-19s chased the 217-run target set by Australia U-19s in just 38.5 overs to win the crown. Ahead of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2022 Final, we will take a look at the Indian playing XI from the final match against Australia U-19s and where the players are now.
Openers - Prithvi Shaw (C) and Manjot Kalra
Prithvi Shaw was the captain of India U-19s in that mega event. Shaw led the team from the front with 261 runs in five innings. He scored a 41-ball 29 against Australia U-19s in the final. Shaw's opening partner, Manjot Kalra, scored a match-winning ton in the summit clash.
While Shaw has become one of the top batters in India and in the IPL, Kalra's career was derailed after his involvement in an age fraud.
Middle Order - Shubman Gill and Harvik Desai (WK)
Shubman Gill played an integral role in the Boys in Blue's championship win. Gill scored 372 runs in the tournament, with 31 coming in the final. Wicket-keeper Harvik Desai aggregated 157 runs in four innings at an average of 78.50, supporting the primary batters to perfection.
Gill has played 10 Tests and three ODIs for India. Billed by many as a future superstar of Indian cricket, Gill is all set to play for Ahmedabad in IPL 2022. Meanwhile, Desai plays domestic cricket for Saurashtra.
All-rounders - Riyan Parag, Abhishek Sharma and Anukul Roy
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The Boys in Blue played with three all-rounders in the final match. Riyan Parag did not have an eventful tournament, scoring only 17 runs in four matches while picking up three wickets. Abhishek Sharma aggregated 78 runs and bagged six wickets, whereas Anukul Roy accounted for 14 wickets and contributed 41 runs.
All three all-rounders have made their IPL debuts. They are yet to play international cricket but have shown promise in the IPL.
Bowlers - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Shivam Mavi, Shiva Singh and Ishan Porel
The Boys in Blue had three pacers and a spinner in their bowling department. Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel and Shivam Mavi led the pace attack, while Shiva Singh headed the spin unit. The pacers bagged a total of 24 wickets in the competition, while Singh had four scalps in six matches.
All three pacers have been members of IPL franchises. Shiva, who plays domestic cricket for Uttar Pradesh, is yet to earn an IPL deal.
Apart from the 11 names that played the final, Arshdeep Singh, Aryan Juyal and Himanshu Rana also represented the Boys in Blue in the 2018 U-19 World Cup. Aditya Thakare and Pankaj Yadav were part of the squad but did not play a single match.