The year 2024 is set to get off to a rollicking start as the 15th edition of the U19 World Cup is about to get underway on January 19 (Saturday) in South Africa. The tournament provides a launchpad for emerging stars and helps them in taking that giant leap to the senior level.
Just like every edition, the 2024 U19 World Cup is also full of talented players who promise to make it big going forward. The defending champions, India also have their fair share of players who can dazzle the stage with their performances and help the defending champions in retaining the title.
Here are a few players from the India squad who can be the breakout stars of the upcoming edition in South Africa:
Uday Pratap Saharan: Uday has been asked to shoulder the responsibility of helping India defend their title. The Rajasthan-born plays his age group cricket for the Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) and normally bats in the middle order for the U19 Indian side.
After experiencing an underwhelming ACC Men's U19 Asia Cup where Uday just managed to aggregate 80 runs across three innings at an average of 26.66, he turned things around with the willow in hand in the recently culminated Tri-Nation Under-19s Tournament in South Africa.
The India U19 skipper scored an impressive hundred (112 runs off 153 balls) in the fifth game of the Tri-Nation Under-19s Tournament against South Africa to help the Men in Blue chase down 257.
He also led his troops from the front in the warm-up game against Australia and scored 74 off 104 balls to help the side post 171 in a clash dominated by the bowlers.
Arshin Kulkarni: The Solapur-born Arshin Kulkarni is already being touted as one of the stars of the future. The allrounder has already secured an IPL (Indian Premier League) contract worth INR 20 Lakhs with Lucknow Super Giants and his performance will determine India's campaign to a greater extent.
He opens the batting for the side and is more than just a handy seamer. He recently played a match-winning 91 against South Africa in the tri-series and bagged a couple of wickets too.
Musheer Khan: Known majorly as Sarfaraz Khan's younger brother, Musheer is on the course of emerging out of his brother's shadows.
The bowling allrounder is one of the few players in the Indian squad who have already had a First-Class experience.
He is a wily slow left-arm orthodox bowler and bats with a lot of responsibility in the middle and the lower-middle order.
Musheer, 18, recently displayed his match-winning all-round prowess when he bagged a five-for (5/38) and scored 41 off 42 balls to help India beat South Africa in the fifth match of the tri-series.
Saumy Kumar Pandey: Vice-captain of the side, Saumy Kumar Pandey, is one of the best left-arm off-spinners who will be on display during the tournament in South Africa. Not much was known about him when the selectors named him as the vice-captain of the side, however, with a match-defining 6/29 and a remarkable 3/49 against the Proteas in the tri-series, he made his presence felt in the side.
Though the wickets in South Africa are not known for assisting spinners traditionally, if they offer even a bit of grip then Saumy will become a threat to the opponents.
