Players from India's first men's U-19 World Cup win - where are they now?
India made history by winning the first-ever ICC Women's T20 U-19 World Cup in South Africa a few days ago.
Playing under the captaincy of Shafali Verma, the team defeated England to win the tournament. It was the first major ICC title for an Indian women's side, and this triumph is a sign of the women's revolution in Indian cricket.
The Indian men's team, meanwhile, won its maiden U-19 World Cup back in 2000. Some of the players in that squad transitioned into the senior team and helped India win multiple titles. Others, meanwhile, did not fare as well.
In this article, we will take a look at India's U-19 World Cup 2000 squad, and where the players are now.
Batters and All-rounders: Manish Sharma, Mohammad Kaif (c), Ravneet Ricky, Niraj Patel, Ajay Ratra (wk), Yuvraj Singh, RS Sodhi and Venugopal Rao
Mohammad Kaif captained the Indian team in the 2000 U-19 World Cup. Kaif led the team from the front, scoring 170 runs and picking up eight wickets in eight matches.
He had a successful career at the senior level as well and also won the maiden edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in 2008 with the Rajasthan Royals. Kaif now works as a commentator.
Yuvraj Singh bagged 12 wickets and scored 203 runs in eight games for India U-19s in the U-19 World Cup back in 2000. He also starred in India's 2007 T20 World Cup and 2011 World Cup wins. Yuvraj has since retired from international cricket and can be seen playing in T20 leagues across the world.
Manish Sharma was one of the two openers for India in that tournament. He represented Punjab at the domestic level but could never make it to India's senior teams. Manish's career was derailed after his involvement in the rebel Indian Cricket League.
Ravneet Ricky was the leading run-scorer for India in the 2000 U-19 World Cup, racking up 340 runs in eight matches. However, like Manish Sharma, Ricky never made it to the senior team. He currently works for Air India and is also a cricket coach.
Niraj Patel scored 133 runs in four innings at an average of 66.50 in the U-19 World Cup 2000. He won IPL 2008 with Rajasthan Royals but never played for the Indian senior team.
Niraj played his last domestic game for Gujarat in 2015.
Ajay Ratra was the wicket-keeper of the U-19 World Cup-winning Indian team back in 2000 and scored 25 runs in three innings. Ratra played six Tests and 12 ODIs for the Indian senior team, with his last appearance coming in 2002. He recently applied for India's selectors' post but did not make it into the committee.
Venugopal Rao is another cricketer from that squad who played at the senior level for Team India, featuring in 16 ODIs. He retired after the 2017 domestic season and tried his luck in politics. Rao also played for the India Maharajas in Legends League Cricket last year.
Reetinder Singh Sodhi scored 134 runs and picked up five wickets for India U-19s at that mega event 23 years ago. Sodhi represented India in 18 ODIs at the senior level. Like Rao, he has since retired but featured in Legends League Cricket last year.
Bowlers of India's U-19 World Cup 2000 team: Shalabh Srivastava, Mrityunjay Tripathi and Anup Dave
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Left-arm fast bowler Shalabh Srivastava was India's leading wicket-taker in the U-19 World Cup 2000, bagging 14 wickets in eight matches. Srivastava played for the Punjab Kings in the IPL. His career went off the rails after the BCCI banned him for five years for his alleged involvement in a fixing scandal.
Anup Dave and Mrityunjay Tripathi were the other two specialist bowlers on the Indian team for the tournament alongside Srivastava. Dave was a slow left-arm spinner, while Tripathi bowled medium pace.
They took 22 wickets between themselves in the tournament, but neither played in the IPL or at the senior level. Both Dave and Tripathi have not played professional cricket since 2007.