10 players who first came into the limelight due to their performances at the U19 World Cup
U19 Cricket World Cups have never been as big an extravaganza as other multi-team International tournaments have been. But nonetheless, the event gives us a glimpse of the upcoming sensations of World Cricket.Some of them go on to make it big like Cook or Gayle while others fade into obscurity like Mohd. Kaif did.Transitions are not always smooth, as was the case with Shikhar Dhawan while some of these youngsters are quick to adapt to international cricket, as was the case with Smith.Some of them have to be moulded to play the same role in the senior team, like Kohli; while others take their game to another level in the minutest chance they get, thriving on whatever challenge comes their way; Jadeja is the classic example of that.With the U19 World Cup already catching the headlines, we look at some of the best cricketers who first shot into the limelight at the U-19 World Cup:
#1 Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli, a name that's putting world cricket on fire for more than half a decade now. Touted as the next big thing in Indian cricket and a great upcoming leader of the Indian Cricket Team when he was still very young, and being the prodigy that he was, Kohli had impressed one and all not just by his batting skills in U19 Cricket World Cup 2008, but as a leader as well when he lead his team to the World Cup triumph. His batting exploits at the International level is known by one and all, but lesser known is his success at the U19 World Cup 2008, in which India stayed undefeated.
Being the flamboyant batsman that he has always been, his blitzkrieg innings of 100 runs of 74 balls was adjudged innings of the tournament. He scored 235 runs at an impressive average of 47, in 6 matches. He was the third highest run-scorer in that tournament, with a difference of less than 30 between him and leading run scorer of the tournament and his teammate, Tanmay Srivastava.