Where are Virat Kohli's U-19 World Cup-winning teammates now?
ICC Under-19 World Cup is a great platform to showcase the young emerging talent from cricketing nations. The 2008 World Cup for instance gave us the talented Virat Kohli who led the U-19 team to victory. The winning team also included the now star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja. Read on to know what the 2008 U-19 squad players are up to now.
The 2008 U-19 squad
The 15-member Indian squad of the 2008 World Cup: Virat Kohli (C), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Tanmay Srivastava, Taruwar Kohli, Shreevats Goswami, Saurabh Tiwary, Manish Pandey, Iqbal Abdulla, Pradeep Sangwan, Siddharth Kaul, Ajitesh Argal, Abhinav Mukund, Duvvarapu Siva Kumar, Perry Goyal, Napolean Einstein.
Not quite there yet
Though not quite famous as his U-19 contemporaries, Virat and Jadeja, Manish Pandey still managed to have a steady career. Pandey played 12 ODIs and 8 T20Is. Remembered as the first Indian to score an IPL century, the right-handed batsman represented Mumbai Indians, Royal Challengers Bangalore, Pune Warriors, and currently Kolkata Knight Riders. He is also a Karnataka state team regular.
Tried, tested, and unsuccessful
Saurabh Tiwary, one of the key left-handed middle-order batsmen of the 2008 U-19 team, just managed to play 3 ODIs, and never got called back to the national team. He was picked up by Mumbai Indians team in 2010 IPL and went on to play for RCB, Delhi Daredevils, and Rising Pune Supergiants. Tiwary continues to play for his state team Jharkhand.
Abhinav Mukund & Iqbal Abdulla
Abhinav Mukund, who recently played the Test against Sri Lanka, has played a total of 7 Tests. Though a part of the 2008 team, he did not play a single match in the U-19 World Cup. Iqbal Abdulla, one of the best bowlers of the WC, was a Mumbai Ranji team regular until 2016 when he moved to Kerala. He plays for RCB.
Mostly part of domestic teams
Pradeep Sangwan, the only Indian to have a five-wicket haul in 2008 WC, was a part of Delhi Ranji team and occasionally played IPL. He was banned for 18 months for using drugs in 2013 IPL. A brilliant wicket-taker for India in 2008, Siddharth Kaul's career was impeded by injuries. He played a few IPL matches and plays regularly for Punjab team.
Parted ways with cricket
Ajitesh Argal, the Man of the Match in 2008 WC final, doesn't play cricket anymore. Ajitesh works as an Income Tax department inspector in Vadodara. Perry Goyal who didn't play a single WC match left cricket for management career. He is director of a company, RSG group. There is not much information on Napolean Einstein except that he doesn't not play professional cricket anymore.
Rest of them
Other players including Taruwar Kohli, Shreevats Goswami, D Siva Kumar, and Tanmay Srivastava (India's best batsman in 2008 WC), play domestic cricket representing their home states of Punjab, West Bengal, Andhra, and UP, respectively.
