The ICC U-19 World Cup is starting today onwards. This time the tournament is hosted by the West Indies cricket board. A total of 16 teams are participating this year including India, Pakistan, Australia, and England.
Some of the current greatest cricketers like Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma, and Steve Smith have started their journey in the ICC U-19 World Cup. They become one of the most successful players in the world of cricket after their successful run in the ICC U-19 World Cup. However, let's take a look at the complete list of the 6 players who became the stars of the game after playing in the ICC U-19 World Cup.
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Starting with Kohli, who has scored over 23k runs already at the international cricket. Then we have Kane Williamson on this list who has also become one of the greatest batsmen of the game. Both of them have played in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup and captained their sides in the world cup. Meanwhile, they became the star of the game afterward.
There are also another two important mentions. In the same edition, we saw Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma who also became star players in their respective zones. If we come to the 2009 ICC U-19 World Cup then we have Steven Smith, who has started his Cricket career as a leggie but ended up as one of the greatest Test batsmen of this generation.
#1. Virat Kohli
Indian skipper Virat Kohli has played in the 2008 edition of the ICC U-19 World Cup as captain and lifted up the trophy. After that he has debut for team India in 2010. Since then Kohli has aggregated 12169 runs in ODIs, and 7962 runs in Tests, and 3227 runs in T20Is he has played. He has maintained an average of 50+ in all three formats of the game. So, he became a star in the world of cricket after successfully winning the U-19 World Cup in 2007.
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#2. Kane Williamson
New Zealand skipper Kane Williamson has played in the finals of the ICC U-19 World Cup in 2008 against India. Although, his team faces defeat against India. But, afterwards Kane became one of the sensation in the world of cricket. The blackcaps skipper has aggregated 7272 runs in Tests, 6174 runs in ODIs, and 2021 runs in T20Is since his debut in 2010. As a skipper, he has won the first WTC trophy last year in July. However, he became one of the fav four of cricket of the current generation.
#3. Rohit Sharma
India's current limited-overs skipper Rohit Sharma has played in the 2006 edition of the ICC under the 19 World Cup. He became one of the most destructive openers in the world of cricket. Meanwhile, he has scored the most runs in the ICC World Cup in 2019. In his career, he has aggregated 3047 Test runs, 9205 runs in ODIs, and 3197 runs in T20Is since his debut in 2007. For his extreme six-hitting ability he has been called as the Hitman of cricket.
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#4. Steven Smith
Current Australia batter Steven Smith has played in the 2009 ICC under-19 World Cup as a leg spinner. Meanwhile, who thought that this young leg spinner will end up as one of the greatest Test batsman of this generation. Smith has aggregated 7757 runs in Tests, 4378 runs in ODIs, and 863 T20I runs since his international debut in 2010. He also became a member of the world cup winning team in the 2015 ICC World Cup and also in T20 World Cup 2021.
#5. Ravindra Jadeja
Currently one of the greatest all-rounders of World cricket, Ravindra Jadeja has played under Kohli's captaincy in 2008 edition of the under-19 world cup. Since his debut Jadeja has became one of the best fielders around the world of the new era. Jadeja has scored around 5000 runs and picked up 456 wickets across format's at the international level. Meanwhile, there is no doubt about that Jadeja is one of the these six best players who became a star in the world of cricket after playing in the U-19 World Cup.
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#6. Trent Boult
Another member of the 2008 ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup, Trent Boult has been phenomenal after his debut at the international levels. Trent Boult has played for the blackcaps in the same edition in which they reached finals under the captaincy of Kane Williamson. Since his debut in 2011, Trent Boult has scalped 301 (Tests), 169 (ODIs), and 62 (T20Is) wickets in his international career. He became a champion bowler in the world of cricket as he became a member of the WTC 2021 winning team NZ.
N.B: The stats are accurate as of 14/01/2022.