10 youngest players in top 8 teams in ICC Cricket World Cup 2015
Many legends of this generation of cricketers have retired since the last World Cup, and new candidates would be raring to step up to be counted as worthy successors. It would have been natural to expect that there would be more young cricketers in this edition than in previous World Cups. But the statistics show a different picture. The ICC World Cup 2015 will see less teenage and U-25 players as compared to previous World Cups. In this World Cup, there are 49 players in the teams’ squads ageing less than 25, and there are only two players who are still teenagers.Number of players aged below 25 in World CupsWorld CupTotalTop 8 teams19752323197912191983272319873433199229261996362419993720200363292007692220115522201549*18*(*) based on the squads only. Actual number of players playing at least a match in the World Cup will be known only after the event.There were 55 players below 25 years of age in the last World Cup, 69 in 2007 and 63 in 2003. Also, there has been a big change in the number of teenagers in the top eight teams over recent years.Number of players aged below 20 in World CupsWorld CupTotalTop 8 teams19752219791119832219871119924319964219994220037020077120115120152*0No big team has selected a teenager in its World Cup squad this year. That is in contrast to all of the previous World Cups (except 2003), where there was at least one teenager in the top eight teams. In this World Cup, there are 10 players below the age of 24 in the squads of the top-eight teams. What follows is a rundown of the youngest players this World Cup.NOTE: All ages are as will be on February 14, the day when World Cup 2015 begins.
#11 From non-top 8 teams
Youngest players in World Cup 2015 apart from top eight teams (age of 22 or less):
- Usman Ghani (Afghanistan) - 18y, 86d
- Taskin Ahmed (Bangladesh) - 19y, 317d
- Nasir Jamal (Afghanistan) - 21y, 55d
- Matthew Cross (Scotland) - 21y, 122d
- Peter Chase (Ireland) - 21y, 128d
- Afsar Zazai (Afghanistan) - 21y, 188d
- Andy Balbirnie (Ireland) - 21y, 290d
- Najibullah Zadran (Afghanistan) - 21y, 351d
- Soumya Sarkar (Bangladesh) - 21y, 354d