Cricketers over the years have used the age group levels to make it big into international cricket. With the latest edition of the Under-19 World Cup taking place, there is curiosity about the next generation.
Virat Kohli, Mitchell Marsh, Yuvraj Singh, Kane Williamson, and Babar Azam are some of the known names. These players used the under-19 level to make it to the next stage and make it big in international cricket.
In this article, we cast a closer look at the top 5 Under-19 Indian players. These are the ones who failed to make to breakthrough to International cricket.
Unmukt Chand – Under-19 World Cup 2012
Unmukt Chand (Source-Twitter)
As soon as India won the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, the focus shifted to Unmukt Chand. It was said that India had found a new opening batter and an heir apparent to Virat Kohli. The young batter even featured in an ad with some of the biggest names. What followed was failure to make it big and Unmukt Chand didn’t get a callup to the Indian side. The 30-year-old is now in the US and is eligible to play for the USA team this year.
Ashok Menaria – Under-19 World Cup 2010
Ashok Menaria (source-twitter(
Not even 19, Ashok Menaria was compared to the already-proven Yuvraj Singh. The youngster from Rajasthan was a powerful striker of the ball. Just like Yuvraj, India’s then Under-19 skipper was a left-arm spinner. Despite his success in the age group format, Ashok Menaria never made it to the international set up. The squad included future India players like, Jaydev Unadkat, KL Rahul, Mandeep Singh, Mayank Agarwal, and Harshal Patel.
Smit Patel – Under-19 World Cup 2012
Smit Patel (Source-Twitter)
Considered a safe wicketkeeper and a steady batter, Smit Patel was touted as the future. A possible next-generation keeper to replace MS Dhoni when he hangs up his boots. The call to international cricket never came. In fact just like Unmukt Chand, even Smit Patel decided to leave India and move to the USA. The 30-year-old also played in the Caribbean Premier League 2021 for Barbados Royals.
Taruwar Kohli – Under-19 World Cup 2008
Taruwar Kohli (Source-Twitter)
Everyone knows that Virat Kohli was the captain of the 2008 team. That squad had players like Ravindra Jadeja, Iqbal Abdullah, Manish Pandey, and Saurabh Tiwary. In the same squad, there was yet another Kohli who was also considered a terrific batter. The 35-year-old couldn’t make it to international cricket despite scoring runs. In 55 First-Class games, Taruwar Kohli has scored over 4500 runs with an average above 53 with 14 centuries.
Harmeet Singh – Under-19 World Cup 2012
Harmeet Singh (Source-Twitter)
It is not every day a young bowler gets compared to the great Bishan Singh Bedi. Young Harmeet Singh was afforded this huge accolade by none other than Ian Chappell. After all the success at the age group level, Harmeet Singh lost his way. The 31-year-old is now playing in the US along with Unmukt Chand and Smit Patel.
