India kickstart their under-19 World Cup campaign in South Africa with a game against Sri Lanka youth side on Januar 19. India are the most successful under-19 side in the history of World Cups and have four titles to their name so far. As they go in search of a fifth title, we take a look at four Indians to watch out for.
Yashasvi Jaiswal
The Mumbai teenager gave a good account of himself when he hit a double century in what was a splendid maiden Vijay Hazare Trophy tournament for him. Opening the batting or playing at no. 3, Jaiswal hit 564 runs in 6 List A matches at an average of 112.8 and finished as the fifth-highest run-scorer in the tournament.
At youth level, Jaiswal is the third-highest run-scorer since the last under-19 World Cup with 900-plus runs at a 60-plus average. The start Jaiswal provides will be crucial to India's chances in this under-19 World Cup in South Africa. He has started the tour with a half-century against Afghanistan in the warm-up game.
Ravi Bishnoi
Leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi kickstarted a bidding war in the recent India T20 League auction and was picked up for a pretty decent Rs. 2 crore by the Punjab franchise. Bishnoi has played just six List A games, but has an uncanny knack of picking up wickets.
He has a pretty handy googly up his sleeve too and this variation, in particular, makes Bishnoi a huge threat for teams this World Cup. He recently picked up five wickets in the three games of the Quadrangular series in South Africa also involving the youth teams of New Zealand, Zimbabwe and the hosts.
Priyam Garg
Priyam Garg was omitted from the last under-19 World Cup in New Zealand when he was just 16 years old. After piling on the runs for Uttar Pradesh, he will lead India's title defence this time around. Just 19, Garg is a regular for Uttar Pradesh in Ranji Trophy already and played in 12 matches, making 867 runs at an average of 66.69. At India U-19 level too, Garg has been in form - making 131 runs at an average of 43.66 in the recently concluded Quadrangular series in South Africa.
Kartik Tyagi
With a hat-trick in the first over against Afghanistan in the warm-up game, Kartik Tyagi is ready to take the under-19 World Cup by storm. With no background in cricket in the family, Tyagi had a tough path towards the top and is now thriving on the big stage. He made his List A debut for Uttar Pradesh against Delhi in early 2018. Since then, he has 9 wickets in 5 matches at an average of 29. A skiddy customer, Tyagi will be key to India's new-ball attack in the pacy South African wickets.
Feature image courtesy: Twitter / @cricketworldcup
