India, Feb 6: India U19 boys showed supreme skill and age-defying maturity to lift a record-extending fifth World Cup here. From skipper and batting mainstay Yash Dhull to star of the title clash Raj Bawa, let’s look back at the recent contribution of the players who reaffirmed India’s dominance at the U-19 level.
ICC U19 World Cup 2022 Team
Yash Dhull (captain)
The India U19 skipper hails from Janakpuri, Delhi and is a middle-order batter. He showed his mettle in the semi-final against Australia by scoring an impressive hundred. He had led the Delhi U-16 team and also scored 302 runs in five innings during the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. He was made the captain of the team because of his highly rated skills. Dhull displayed his rare talent by playing three crucial knocks after missing two league games due to a COVID-19 infection.
Shaikh Rasheed
Dhull’s deputy and number three batter had scored 376 runs in 6 innings for Andhra in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy at an average of 75.2. He scored a ton in the Challenger Trophy (119), also struck an unbeaten 90 against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Semi-final and scored 72 not out in a practice match against Australia before the World Cup. He also played a pivotal role in the team reaching the final.
Harnoor Singh Pannu
He is an elegant left-handed batter and a specialist opener, who won the player of the tournament award in Asia Cup 2021, as he amassed 251 runs in five innings, with 120 as his best score. However, he did not have the best of times in the World Cup. In the ‘Challenger Trophy’ 2021/22, he amassed 397 runs from four innings with three hundred.
Raj Bawa
The star of the U19 World Cup final, Bawa is a left-handed batter and a right-arm medium pacer. He made the headlines after picking four wickets against Pakistan in the Asia Cup and also scored a ton and took 8 wickets in the three ‘Challenger Trophy’ games.
His father Sukhwinder Singh Bawa has coached former India flamboyant all-rounder Yuvraj Singh, who hails from Punjab, while his grandfather Tarlochan Bawa won the Olympics gold medal in hockey in 1948.
Angkrish Raghuvanshi
He is an aggressive right-handed batter and a specialist opener, who hammered a fifty in the Asia Cup 2021 final against Sri Lanka. His father Avneesh has played tennis for India and his mother Malika has played basketball for the country. He moved to Mumbai from Delhi at 11 and was coached by former India all-rounder and domestic veteran Abhishek Nayar.
Rajvardhan Hangargekar
A pacer and an attacking batter, with special prowess for hitting sixes, the lanky speedster has played five lists A and two T20s for Maharashtra. He also grabbed 8 wickets in the Asia Cup and scored 97 runs. He, unfortunately, lost his father due to COVID-19 in June 2020.
Kaushal Tambe
He is an attacking right-handed batter and off-spinner, who was initially spotted by the former national selector and former Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave when he went for selection trials. He was born in Ootur village in Junnar tehsil of Pune district, which is the birthplace of ‘Maratha Warrior King Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. Bought up in Pune, he studies in the well-known SP College and his father is Sunil Tambe, who is an ACP with the Anti-Terrorism Squad.
Vicky Ostwal
A left-arm orthodox spinner, who hails from Lonavala, a picturesque hill station in Maharashtra’s Pune district. On the insistence of his coach Mohan Jadhav, he shifted to a place near his academy – the Vengsarkar Academy in Thergaon, Chinchwad. He was the player of the match in the Asia Cup 2021 final as he returned with fine figures of 3/11 and took 8 wickets in five Asia Cup matches with an economy of 2.29. Ostwal ended up as India’s leading wicket-taker in the tournament.
Nishant Sindhu
Sindhu, who scored his life’s most important half-century in the final on Saturday, is an attacking left-handed batter and left-arm orthodox bowler. He led Haryana to the Vinoo Mankad Trophy title after 19 years and had also led Haryana to a win in U-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy in 201. He is the son of a state-level boxer and led India when regular skipper Yash Dhull had tested positive for COVID-19. Later, he also tested positive.
Aaradhya Yadav
He is a wicket-keeper and a right-handed batter, who hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. In the Vinoo Mankad trophy, he amassed 295 runs from seven innings, with an average of 42.1 with his best score of 131. He is coached by Ajay Sharma.
Ravi Kumar
He is a left-arm pacer and son of a CRPF officer, who played the Vinoo Mankad Trophy for Bengal in which he grabbed 11 wickets, with an economy of 2.75. He was the wreaker in chief against Bangladesh in the quarter-final of the ongoing World Cup and played a pivotal role in India making it to the semis. He took four important wickets in the final.
Dinesh Bana
He is a wicket-keeper and right-handed batter, who hails from Hisar in Haryana. In the four ‘Challenger Trophy matches’, Bana scored 255 runs. With 170 as his best score. He Idolises cricket icon, Sachin Tendulkar. He was also impressed with his big-hitting skills in the semifinal against Australia.
Siddharth Yadav
He is a left-handed batter, who hails from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. In the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, from seven innings he scored 258 runs with an average of 43, including two fifties. Siddharth’s father runs a provision store.
Garv Sangwan
He is a right-arm pacer, who hails from Bhiwani in Haryana, which is known for boxers and wrestlers. He was a part of the Vinoo Mankad winning Haryana team.
