Five Indian names to watch out for in the upcoming U19 World Cup

We are talking about the U19 World Cup final in 2008 where despite the presence of Virat Kohli and Wayne Parnell, Tanmay Srivastava bagged the limelight.

However, the final couldn’t really live up to its glamorous billing as the Rain Gods sprang to life. Yet, turn the clock back by a match or two and names like Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja were running riot. Fast forward the clock by a decade and they have become towering members of the sport. Time flies fast and yet history repeats itself.

As we inch closer to another edition of the U19 World Cup that has gifted India countless talents, we will quickly turn our eyes towards a few names who can be the upcoming Kohlis or Jadejas or even better, a name that sets a new precedent in the cricketing roster.

Yash Dhull

They say that numbers cannot lie and it simply cannot be better put than in the case of Yash Dhull, the Indian captain for the upcoming U19 World Cup. The young batsman is blessed with a lot of potential and is often tagged as the classy batter amongst the Indian lot. This, however, is not Dhull’s first rodeo with the captaincy as he has previously led Delhi U16, U19 and India A U19 sides. Even though his recent numbers in the tri-series involving two young sides of India and Bangladesh were pretty ordinary, he was an absolute sensation in the Vinoo Mankad trophy. The youngster managed to pile up 302 runs in five games at a stunning average of 75.50. He is an aggressive attacker of the ball and has a decent sense of patience that helps him choose his stance and aggression carefully.

Harnoor Singh

Despite failing to fire home in the last match of the tri-series held in Kolkata, Harnoor Singh was in fine form in the two opening games of the tournament that saw him blasting fine knocks of 72 and 111. He scored 191 runs from 3 games at an overwhelming average of 63.66 and a strike rate of 83.77. He opens the batting and his calculated risks will provide a decent sense of reliability upfront on the fast tracks of the Caribbean islands.

SK Rasheed

Shaik Rasheed is an all-rounder who comes with the rare art of leg spin. He is also known to be a phenomenal batter that saw him smoking a fine century against India B in the recently concluded youth tournament. He has also been announced as the deputy to Yash Dhull. In the tri-series against India B and Bangladesh, he amassed scores of 125 and 30.

Raj Angad Bawa

Remember how Shivam Mavi was running riots in the preceding edition of the U19 World Cup, blighting stumps at will? Raj Bawa is one of those rare fast bowlers who can kiss the deck hard, and believes in grinding momentously to keep on tormenting the batters. He is not about those impeccable numbers but he belongs to the rare category of fast bowlers for whom life never stops in the fast lane. He gave a decent display in the recent youth tournament that saw him claiming 4 wickets where his best haul was a three-fer. Despite being a bit expensive in the opening ODI of the tournament, he reeled the numbers back in, thereafter.

Rajvardhan Hangargekar

More of a medium-fast bowler, he has been rubbing shoulders with a few illustrious names that include the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rahul Tripathi in his List A journey. He has already claimed two quartets and came out with a sensational display to pick up 3 wickets against Bangladesh in the recently concluded U19 tri-series. An important aspect of his bowling is the discipline that allows him to maintain a stringent line and length giving minimal room for the batters to free their arms. He will be an important weapon in the Indian repertoire as the West Indian tracks have a lot for the pacers and medium pacers alike.