The India U19 team is one of the most successful sides at the junior level. They have lifted the trophy four times while have played seven finals. They were the defending champions before going into the World Cup 2020 but were dethroned by Bangladesh on Sunday.
The junior-level cricket has helped India produce many players who have gone on to play for the country and achieve big. From Mohammad Kaif, who led India to their first-ever U19 World Cup win to Virat Kohli who lifted the trophy in 2008, there are a number of players who have excelled at the highest level.
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While some have gone on to make their names, there are some who just went in the backdrop and never really got a chance to represent the country. Here’s a list of players who might not be able to play for the country despite performing exceedingly well at the U19 level.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Yashasvi Jaiswal opened the innings for India in the U19 World Cup and scored some heavy amount of runs for the side. He single-handedly guided India to their seventh final after scoring an unbeaten hundred against Pakistan in the semi-final and followed it with another brilliant knock of 88 in the final against Bangladesh. Though his efforts in the final went in vain but Jaiswal did catch the attention of the pundits and fans.
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Despite performing well in the tournament, Jaiswal might not be able to play for India. He opens the innings and the current pool of players has as many as five players who can bat at number one and two for India. Though among these five, Shikhar Dhawan is the only left-handed opener the Indian team management doesn’t really work on these criteria. Creating a perfect right-left opening combination hasn’t really been the target of the management.
Kartik Tyagi
Kartik Tyagi’s struggling story and his success in the U19 World Cup might make you emotional but emotions don’t come into play when it’s about team selection. Tyagi is a right-handed fast bowler and in the present scenario, this would be the only reason he gets omitted. The pool of India’s fast bowling department presently comprises of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Navdeep Saini is the new inclusion. With so many right-handed fast bowlers in the contention, it would be difficult for Tyagi to make a cut into the side.
Ravi Bishnoi
The Indian leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi certainly rattled the batting line up of the sides that he faced. The googly that Bishnoi is probably one of the finest ones a leggie can deliver. He might have the ability to take wickets but the Indian team already has a leg-spinner in Yuzvendra Chahal who not only picks up wickets but also has the ability to pull back the scoring rate of the opposition batsmen.
Well, they might have big names in the competition but we would still want them to wear the India jersey someday.
