2008 U-19 Cricket World Cup Team — Where are they now?

The U-19 Cricket World Cups are, undoubtedly, an event which India has always dominated. They are the most successful team in the tournament with a total of four titles and two runners-up finish.

These World Cups at the age group level have time and again turned these youngsters into overnight stars in the country. While some go on to attain success at the senior level as well, others falter poorly during the transition period. Here, we look at those players who shot to fame overnight after clinching the 2008 U-19 World Cup and where they are now.

Virat Kohli

Certainly the most well recognised player from the World Cup winning squad, Virat Kohli was the captain of the team. The now 32-year-old had a seamless transition from the age group level to senior level and has is currently the skipper of India across all the formats. Once hated by many for his brash attitude in the field, Kohli has gone on to become one of the best cricketers in the modern era.

Ravindra Jadeja

The vice-captain of the team, Ravindra Jadeja had put on a stellar show during the World Cup with a total of 10 wickets at an average of just above 13. Coming out a successful campaign at the World Cup, Jadeja thrived for Rajasthan Royals in the first ever edition of IPL. Such was his presence in the team that his skipper at the Royals, Shane Warne, nicknamed him ‘The Rockstar’. Jadeja has since established himself as a vital cog for India in all the three formats of the game.

Ajitesh Argal

The Man of the Man in the final of World Cup, Ajitesh Argal is a forgotten man in Indian cricket. A handy pace bowling all-rounder, Argal produced stunning figures of 2 for 7 in five overs in the final against South Africa. Though he rose to fame overnight, Argal played a mere 19 matches for Baroda in the next nine years. He currently serves as an Income Tax officer and represents them in the BCCI Corporate Trophy.

Napoleon Einstein

A right-handed batsman from Chennai, Napoleon Einstein was majorly in the news due to his unique name. He only played a single match during India’s successful run at the World Cup and was picked up by the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL. Named after Albert Einstein, he was last recorded playing in a Syed Mustaq Ali match for Tamil Nadu way back in 2014.

Shreevats Goswami

Doubling up as the wicketkeeper as well as an opening batsman, Shreevats Goswami had a fruitful World Cup scoring more than 150 runs with the bat. One of the first players from the squad to earn an IPL contract, Goswami failed to get regular starts in the cash rich league. He even found it difficult to break in to the Bengal squad as a wicket-keeper, due to the presence of Wriddhiman Saha. Even though a national call-up seems to be a far cry, Goswami continues to toil hard in the domestic circuit.

Perry Goyal

Perry Goyal was India’s second choice wicketkeeper during the World Cup. Neither did he play a single match during the World Cup, nor did he ever play the IPL or domestic cricket at the senior level. Goyal currently serves as a director with a real-estate group in Patiala.

Iqbal Abdulla

The go to bowler for skipper Kohli in the tournament, Iqbal Abdulla formed a potent spin pair with Ravindra Jadeja. He matched Jadeja with his shrewd bowling and picked up 10 wickets at an average of 13 during the World Cup campaign. The left-arm spinner was picked up by Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and even went on to win the ‘Rising Player’ of the season in 2011. He even plied his trade for Rajasthan Royals and Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL. In the domestic front, Abdulla represented Mumbai before shifting to Kerala and then coming back home to Mumbai. Even though he has put in some decent performances off late, a national call-up seems to be out of sight for the 31 year old.

Taruwar Kohli

The other Kohli in the World Cup winning squad, Taruwar played as an opening batsman. He registered three consecutive half centuries in the first three matches of the tournament and scored a total of 218 runs and was picked up by Rajasthan Royals for the first edition of IPL. But, form soon ditched him and he last played a IPL game way back in 2009 for the then Kings XI Punjab. He shot into limelight once again with a stunning triple century for Punjab in Ranji Trophy 2013-14 but failed to back it up with consistent performances. Failing to even get into the state side, Kohli switched to Mizoram after the expansion of Ranji Trophy and became only the fifth player to score multiple triple hundreds in the history of tournament. With a national call-up not anywhere near, Taruwar Kohli continues to toil in the domestic circuit.

Siddharth Kaul

India’s premier pace bowler going in to the World Cup, Siddharth Kaul finished the tournament with 10 wickets in just five matches. Kaul shot to limelight after defending 19 runs in the final over of the World Cup to propel India to the trophy. The right-arm pacer has since put up some consistent performances for Punjab in the domestic circuit. After failing to impress in for the then Delhi Daredevils in IPL 2013 and 2014, he was picked up by the Sunrisers Hyderabad for the year 2016. Though he was benched for the whole season, Kaul impressed the backroom staff and became the team’s go through bowler in 2017, scalping 16 wickets in 10 matches. He went one further in the next season and picked up 21 wickets to become the joint-highest wicket taker for his side. These performances propelled him to the Indian side and he has played 3 ODIs and 3 T20Is, without much success.

Abhinav Mukund

One of the only three players from this squad to have played Test cricket, Abhinav Mukund did not play a single game during the World Cup. But, some highly consistent performances in domestic cricket post the World Cup meant that Mukund made his Test debut against West Indies in the year 2011. The left-handed batsman failed to grab his opportunities and was soon dropped from the team. He made a brief comeback to the Indian set-up in the long home season during 2016-2017 but was unable to cement his spot. Despite being ignored by selectors during his prime, Mukund continues to churn out runs in the domestic circuit. He also doubles up as a commentator for Star Sports Tamil nowadays.

Pradeep Sangwan

A well-built left arm pacer who could hit the long handle, Pradeep Sangwan was India’s only bowler to pick up a five wicket haul in the World Cup. Such was his talent that the Delhi based franchise preferred him over Virat Kohli during the draft of the inaugural IPL. Sangwan, though, failed to put up consistent performances for both his IPL sides and domestic team as well. In 2013, he was banned by BCCI for doping for 15 months. Though he came back as a much improved player at the end of the ban, people seemed to have forgotten him. Frequent injuries did not help his cause either but Sangwan continues to toil in the domestic circuit.

Manish Pandey

A right-handed batsman from Karnataka, Manish Pandey had a terrible campaign during the U-19 World Cup. This was soon to be left behind as he became the first Indian to register an IPL century while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the year 2009. Since then it has been a bumpy ride for Pandey as he keeps on piling heaps of runs in the IPL, domestic cricket and for India A as well. These consistent performances mean that Pandey continues to be in the fringes of the Indian team, without completely cementing his spot.

Duvvarapu Siva Kumar

A right-arm medium pacer who could bat, Duvvarapu Siva Kumar did not play a single match during India’s successful World Cup campaign. He, though, was immediately picked up by his state side, Andhra Pradesh, and has since played a total of 42 matches for them. He has a first-class century to his name to go with a total of 133 wickets. He was last recorded playing first-class cricket in 2018 by Espncricinfo.

Tanmay Srivastava

The most successful batsman in the entire U-19 World Cup, Tanmay Srivastava finished the tournament with a total of 262 runs at an average of 52. Widely considered as the one to look after, lack of consistency meant that Srivastava drifted off the public eye sooner than expected. The southpaw retired from all forms of cricket in October last year at the age of 30.

Saurabh Tiwary

Another dashing left-handed batsman, Saurabh Tiwary is a self-professed MS Dhoni fan. Hailing from the same state as the former Indian captain, Tiwary registered two half centuries during the U-19 World Cup. He was picked up by the Mumbai Indians for the IPL and soon established himself as one of their key men. He made his international debut soon after in 2010 and played a total of 3 ODIs without anything noteworthy. Since then, opportunities have been limited for Tiwary, but he continues to put up consistent performances for Jharkhand and whichever IPL team he plays for.