Catch them young, watch them grow! The U-19 World Cup is here

We’re just two days away from the start of the under-19 World Cup, and the event is significant not just for the final result that comes out of it but also for the players participating in every single match. The under-19 World Cup has for a long time been a breeding ground for future Test, ODI and T20 specialists. This tournament, which was started in the year 1988 and then again re-initiated in the year 1998, has seen many players making it to the highest ranks for their respective countries by way of their exeptional performances and skills demonstrated during these games. A peek into the stats and trivia about the junior World cup gives us an idea about the importance and relevance of this tournament.

The Under-19 World Cup has been won the most number of times (thrice) by Australia, who mirror the performances of their seniors in terms of dominance and consistency. India and Pakistan have both won the World cup twice, and the English boys have done it once. Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies and South Africa have never won the event although each of them has made it to the title round once in the past. Thus, going by history, the cup is within everybody’s reach.

Even more interesting are the highest run getters, the captains of victorious teams and the winners of  “man of the tournament” titles in the history of this tournament. The 1988 tournament saw the participation of  (future) legends like Brian Lara, Inzamam-ul Haq , Sanath Jayasuriya, Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain. There was also our very own “muscles” Venkatapathy Raju  and a number of other top cricketers like Chris Cairns, Mushtaq Ahmed, Jimmy Adams and the beefy wicket-keeper Ridley Jacobs.

Hard hitting “Gayle -storm” – Chris Gayle – was the highest run-getter in the 1998 edition. Surely the people who have followed his game from that point in time will be satisfied to see the young Gayle  transform into one of the best batsmen the Windies have ever  produced. Graeme Smith, who was the leading run-getter in the 200o edition, went on to become the youngest ever  South African Test captain, steering the team to the top of the charts  in Test cricket as well.

Yuvraj Singh, who was a member of the India U-19 team in 2000, was the man of tournament in that edition.The same kid was, of course, the ‘Man of the tournament’  in the Senior World Cup in 2011, which India won after more than a quarter of a century. Enamul Haq (Bangladesh), Xavier Doherty (Australia), Tatenda Taibu (youngest ever Test captain from Zimbabwe) were also leading performers in the junior World Cup .

Then there were also Virat kohli, Shane Watson, Robin Uthappa and many more such talents that climbed the ranks and brought glory to their respective nations in the various international tournaments that they have played and won after initially making their mark in the junior World Cup.

This time, it’s again a new batch of fresh faces and young blood. The whole world has its focus on these lads, with a keen eye to spot  talents and speculate their future in world cricket. The 2015 ICC cricket World Cup will likely see the faces of many of these young guns, and surely at least a few of them are on track to become legends of the game.