India’s Under-19 World Cup win in 2008 saw the emergence of a number of future stars, including modern batting great Virat Kohli.
Aside from Kohli, five other players from the squad went on to feature for India’s senior side. Some of the others, though, didn’t have the same career path.
Here’s a look at how players fared after that title win in Malaysia fourteen years ago.
Virat Kohli (captain)
Top-order batter
The leader of the young brigade in Malaysia, Kohli became one of the game’s great batters over the next decade. Inducted into the ODI team months after victory with the under-19s, Kohli took some time to get going at senior level, but sealed his place in the side by the 2011 World Cup and made his Test debut not long after that tournament. Only two men have made more centuries in international cricket, and the last decade has seen Kohli enjoy success as a captain in all three forms.
Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain)
Spin-bowling all-rounder
Deputy to Kohli, Jadeja, too, was fast-tracked into the India team, earning his maiden call-up in 2009. He too had some early bumps in the road but his left-arm spin became a vital part of India’s bowling across all formats in the early 2010s, and he reached the top of the Test bowling and all-rounder rankings in 2017. Only six men have taken more Test wickets for India than Jadeja, and he’s got time on his side to move up that list.
Taruwar Kohli
Opener
The other Kohli in the team, Taruwar got India off to steady starts throughout the tournament, reeling off three half-centuries. Unlike his namesake, though, Taruwar couldn’t break into the big leagues, but continues to feature in domestic cricket. Initially part of the Punjab Ranji team, he hit three centuries for Mizoram in the 2022 Ranji Trophy.
Shreevats Goswami
Wicketkeeper/Opener
A punchy wicketkeeper-batter, Goswami was tipped for higher honours after he won the Emerging Player of the Year award in the inaugural edition of the IPL in 2008, and he made his first-class debut later that year. Part of the Bengal setup in domestic cricket, he’s played 55 first-class games, the last of which came in 2020. He’s played on and off in the IPL, featuring in 31 games across seven seasons, and is currently playing club cricket in England for Flowery Field CC.
Tanmay Srivastava
India’s leading run-getter in the competition, Srivastava continued to pile on the runs in domestic cricket, having already made his first-class debut back in 2006. Primarily opening the batting, he played 90 first-class games, the last of which came in 2020, when he called time on his playing career. According to his Twitter account, Srivastava has recently worked with Royal Challengers Bangalore as a scout.
Saurabh Tiwary
Middle-order batter
A powerful middle-order batter, Tiwary was a sought-after entity after the World Cup, having already made his domestic debuts across formats before the tournament. In 2010, Tiwary broke into the India team but played just three ODIs; in the IPL though, he managed to secure a $1.6 million contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2011. Now a domestic veteran with Jharkhand – he’s played over a hundred first-class games – Tiwary last played a game in the IPL in 2021.
Manish Pandey
Middle-order batter
Manish didn’t set that World Cup on fire but found his moment of glory the following year, becoming the first Indian to score an IPL century at just 19 years of age. The record-breaking knock gained him widespread attention – Manish turned into an IPL regular and has played 160 games in the competition. A long-awaited international debut came in 2015, but Manish hasn’t quite landed a regular place, having played 29 ODIs and 39 T20Is, his last appearance coming in 2020.
Iqbal Abdulla
Spin-bowling all-rounder
The other left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder in the team after Jadeja, and the joint-leading wicket-taker for India in the tournament, Abdulla was also an all-format domestic player before the World Cup. After a brief lull, Abdulla became a vital part of Mumbai’s Ranji outfit until 2016. Concurrently, he proved to be handy for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, but hasn’t played in the league since 2017. He now features for Mizoram in domestic cricket alongside his former teammate Taruwar Kohli.
Pradeep Sangwan
Seamer
Sangwan’s Under-19 World Cup selection came on the back of a breakthrough Ranji season for Delhi in 2007/08, and he continued his impressive run in the blue kit, taking a five-for against South Africa in one of the group games. Post the World Cup, he earned an IPL contract, but in 2013 he was in the headlines for the wrong reasons after receiving an 18-month ban for steroid use. He made a return to the IPL this year after a four-year absence.
Siddarth Kaul
Seamer
A crafty medium-pace bowler, Kaul was the joint-highest wicket-taker for India in the tournament alongside Abdulla. However, things didn’t quite go to plan thereafter: a number of injuries meant that he hardly played any first-class cricket until 2012, but a resurgence saw him make his long-awaited IPL debut in 2013. He made his way into India’s ODI and T20I teams in 2018, but the stint was brief. He played one game for RCB in IPL 2022 and plays domestically for Punjab.
Ajitesh Argal
Seamer
Player of the Match in the final, Argal made his first-class debut later that year but played the last of his 10 matches in the format in 2015.
Napoleon Einstein
Opener
Einstein, who made his List-A debut in 2007, played just the one game at the World Cup. He couldn’t break into Tamil Nadu’s first-class side and played a T20 in 2014 before disappearing from the domestic scene.
Abhinav Mukund was part of the squad but did not play a game. He went on to become a formidable domestic cricketer, playing 145 first-class games, including seven Tests for India, the last of which was in 2017.
Wicketkeeper Perry Goyal and seamer D Sivakumar were also part of the squad. Goyal, part of Punjab’s age-group teams before the World Cup, left the sport soon after, and now manages a hotel chain. Sivakumar continued to play domestic cricket for Andhra until 2018.
