India are the most successful team in the Under-19 Cricket World Cup, having won the trophy four times. With the 13th edition of the tournament coming up imminently, a new generation of youngsters are gearing up to defend the title that their predecessors won in 2018. They are India’s future stars, a part of the 15-member contingent for the tournament, starting on January 17 in Kimberley, South Africa.

Priyam Garg (captain, right-hand bat)

“He is way beyond his years.” Those were the words of Uttar Pradesh captain Akshdeep Nath, after Garg had scored a solid 88 against Services in a Ranji Trophy game in November 2018. The 19-year-old, who earned his maiden Ranji cap against Goa in the 2018-19 season, plundered a century on debut. Since then, he’s made 867 runs from 12 first-class games, including a double-century against Tripura in December 2018, and 539 runs from 15 List A outings.

Having lost his mother when he was 11, Garg, who is one of five siblings, credits his father for nurturing his cricketing dream. His father, he told Indian Express, took on odd jobs so Garg could hone his skills. His hard work and maturity almost took him to the World Cup squad in 2018, but a poor run in the build-up to the tournament meant he had to wait. The wait might just be worth it.

Dhruv Jurel (vice-captain, wicketkeeper)

Son of a war veteran, Dhruv Jurel would have been enrolled in the National Defence Academy, had his father not realised that his son had different ambitions. The sight of a batsman playing fluent strokes during a 60-day summer camp in his hometown of Agra was enough to make the teenager fall in love with the game.

A safe wicketkeeper, Jurel scored a match-winning 59* against Bangladesh in the final of the tri-nation competition in England in July-August. A month later, he led India U19 to the Asia Cup title in Sri Lanka. His smart captaincy helped India defend a paltry 106 against Bangladesh.

He took only four wickets from eight games while playing for Belagavi Panthers in the Karnataka Premier League, the state’s domestic T20 tournament earlier this year, but his economy rate of 6.55 was among the best.

“It’s an opportunity to do as well as [the previous U19 Indian batches],” Hegde told Wisden after the squad announcement. “Because they’ve done so well, there are a lot of eyes on us. It’s a good feeling that everyone’s going to be watching us play.”

Ravi Bishnoi (bowling all-rounder)

Kartik Tyagi (right-arm fast)

Kartik Tyagi, who hails from the small village of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, made his Ranji Trophy debut back in October 2017. The right-arm pacer can bowl at 140kph.

His 41 wickets from eight matches in the 2018-19 Cooch Behar Trophy, the U19 age-group tournament, is a highlight of his young career. He was India’s second-highest wicket-taker in England, after Mishra, with nine scalps from five games. He took six wickets from three games in the Afghanistan series, including 3-24 in the third one-dayer.

Atharva Ankolekar (left-arm spin)

Atharva Ankolekar had been encouraged to play cricket by his father, who passed away when he was just 10. Raised by a single mother who is a bus conductor in Mumbai, the talented left-arm spinner pursued his dream.

Ankolekar was behind Bangladesh’s collapse in the Youth Asia Cup final, where he ran through the middle order and the tail to finish with 5-28. The performance came after his 4-16 and 3-36 against Afghanistan and Pakistan respectively, which ensured that he led the wicket-taking charts, with 12 scalps from three games. He also finished the competition with an economy rate of 2.96.

Kumar Kushagra (wicketkeeper)

‘Wicketkeeper from Jharkhand’ reminds us of a certain World Cup-winning captain. Kumar Kushagra is of the same ilk as MS Dhoni, and Ishan Kishan, who led India U19 in the 2016 tournament, where they finished as runners-up.

Kushagra led Ranchi during his U16 days, having earlier represented the Bokaro district team at the U14 level. He is likely to be India’s second-choice wicketkeeper after Jurel. As an opener, he showed solidity in low-scoring encounters against Afghanistan U19 in Lucknow.

Vidyadhar Patil (right-arm medium fast)

Vidyadhar Patil completes India’s young and exciting fast-bowling group. He was a part of the winning Hubli Tigers team in the Karnataka Premier League, where he took up death-bowling responsibilities.

The Raichur-born medium pacer believes his experience in the England tri-series, where he took four wickets from as many games, helped him prepare for greater challenges. “I had dreamt of this for a long time; it feels very good,” he told Sportstar after his selection to the World Cup squad. “I was nervous before going to England. I didn’t know how things would turn out. But now I have that experience with me.”

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