U19 World Cup is one of the crucial stepping stones for cricketers to graduate to the senior squad. Although there have been players who have been successful for the senior team without playing U19 cricket for their country, usually, the selectors have a keen eye on the U19 team. At least, in recent years, India has used a lot of U19 talent in the senior setup. A few cricketers who did well as a teenager in the U19 World Cup have also gone on to do well for the senior team. In this article, we take a look at 4 Indian players who scored a century in the U19 World Cup and then scored a hundred in international cricket also.
1) Shikhar Dhawan – 3 Centuries in 2004 U19 WC
Shikhar Dhawan happens to be one of the best Indian players to have played the U19 World Cup. Back in 2004, the opener scored 505 runs in seven games at an average of 84. He was also the Player of the Series in that event.
After making it to the senior squad, Shikhar has been part of plenty of wins for Team India. During his time, he has scored 7 Test centuries and 17 ODI hundreds. In both Test and T20I cricket, Shikhar may not have a future. However, in ODIs, the player could get a run until the end of the 2023 World Cup. Hence, there is a chance for him to add to his count of centuries.
2) Cheteshwar Pujara – 1 Century in 2006 U19 WC
Cheteshwar Pujara is also one of the players who scored a century in the U19 World Cup and then scored a hundred in international cricket also. In the 2006 U19 World Cup, Cheteshwar Pujara was the highest run-scorer. The right-hander made 349 runs in six games at an average of 116.33. Pujara scored more runs in that event than the likes of Eoin Morgan and Rohit Sharma.
Although Pujara went on to play only 5 ODIs for the senior squad, he has been part of 95 Tests so far. In this, he has scored 18 centuries. Pujara has also got these centuries at tough countries like Australia. However, at the moment, Pujara’s future is looking bleak. He has been in poor form and could be dropped for the upcoming series.
3) Virat Kohli – 1 Century in 2008 U19 WC
Virat Kohli is arguably the best example for an U19 cricketer making it big at the senior level. In the successful 2008 edition, Virat had scored a hundred as the captain of the team.
Of course, as we are well aware, Virat then scored centuries for fun in international cricket. He has made 70 of them so far but is stuck on the number for more than two years. That said, he is looking in good touch and his 71st century could arrive soon.
4) Rishabh Pant – 1 Century in 2016 U19 WC
Rishabh Pant is one of the Indian players who scored a century in the U19 World Cup and then scored a hundred in international cricket also. The southpaw had managed to hit a century in the 2016 U19 WC. He was one of the best batsmen for India in that competition. Soon, he got a chance to play for Team India.
Pant has been striking centuries on a regular basis for the senior squad. Till now, the Delhi lad has scored four centuries in Tests while he is yet to open the account in the other two formats. That said, he has been given the No.4 position in limited-overs cricket and before long, we can witness him scoring hundreds in the coloured jersey, as well.
