Who is Uday Saharan - 5 things to know about India's 2024 U19 World Cup captain
Uday Saharan is the captain of the Indian team in the ongoing ICC U-19 World Cup 2024. The Boys in Blue are the defending championships of the mega event, but that triumph came under Yash Dhull's captaincy two years ago.
This time, the boys have reached South Africa, with Uday Saharan being their captain. India U-19s have started their campaign on a winning note, beating Bangladesh U-19s by 84 runs in their tournament opener in Bloemfontein last evening.
Saharan led the team from the front by scoring 64 runs. In this listicle now, we will look at the five things that fans should know about the India U-19 skipper.
#1 Uday Saharan was born in Shri Ganaganagar
Saharan hails from Rajasthan's northern city of Shri Ganaganagar. He was born on September 8, 2004. At the time of writing, Saharan is 19 years and 135 days old.
He is yet to represent Rajasthan at the state level, but the youngster has experience of playing India U-19s in the past. His half-century against Bangladesh U-19s showed that he performs well under pressure.
#2 Saharan has scored 4 half-centuries in his last 4 innings
Saharan has scored four half-centuries in the last four innings he has played. In the Youth ODI against South Africa U-19s, he scored 112 runs, followed by knocks of 74 and 50* in the warm-up matches against Australia U-19s and Sri Lanka U-19s, respectively.
Now, in the first match of the U-19 World Cup 2024, Saharan scored 64 runs against the Bangladesh U-19s. Indian fans will hope that his splendid form continues.
#3 Uday Saharan was a reserve player in India's squad that won ICC U-19 World Cup 2022
Saharan was one of the reserves named in India's squad for the ICC U-19 World Cup 2022. Although multiple players of the main Indian squad tested positive for COVID-19 during the tournament, Saharan did not get a chance to play.
The youngster worked hard in 2022 and 2023 to become the captain of the India U-19 team of the ICC U-19 World Cup 2024.
#4 Uday Saharan captained India in ACC U-19 Asia Cup 2023
It is pertinent to note this is not the first time Uday is captaining the Indian U-19 team at a major event. Last year, he led the Boys in Blue in the ACC U-19 Asia Cup, where the Indian team reached the semifinals.
Bangladesh U-19s upset India U-19s in the knockout game. Saharan had a forgettable outing that day as he managed a 10-ball duck.
#5 Uday's father wanted to be a cricketer
Uday's father Sanjeev Saharan is an Ayurvedic doctor, but he once aspired to become a cricketer. In fact, Sanjeev was the one who instilled a strong work ethic and passion for cricket in Uday.
Sanjeev could not make it big in cricket due to geographical constraints, but he sent his son to Punjab so that he could excel in the sport. After making his mark at the U-14, U-16, and U-19 levels from Bhatinda, Uday is now leading India U-19s at the U-19 World Cup 2024.