International Cricket Council initiated a unique concept of having tournaments for under 19 players at international level. The concept has been a huge success ever since. There are many tournaments organized or under 19 team and it is here that the players are recognized. Of the various tournament, ICC world cup is the biggest event.

India won the U-19 world cup in the year 2000 under the captaincy of Mohammad Kaif in Sri Lanka. The players from that team have successfully made into the international arena as well. The team of 2000 included few big names today. These are Yuvraj Singh, Mohd Kaif, Venugopal Rao, Ajay Ratra, etc. India was unable to defend the cup in the year 2002.

India lost to Pakistan in the semifinals of 2004 edition and finals of 2006 edition. Various under 19 players are currently playing in the Indian team. These are Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Piyush Chawla, Robin Uthappa, RP Singh.

The year 2008 edition of the World Cup was played in Malaysia. Indian team was lead by Virat Kohli. Indian remain unbeaten in the tournament and retain the title after eight long years. India defeated New Zealand in the semi finals. The final against South Africa was extremely exciting match. India batted poorly in first half and were bowled out for 159 runs.

Indian bowlers did the trick for India and reduced South Africa 11 for 3 in 7 overs when rain interrupted. South Africa’s target was revised to 116 in 25 overs. The South Africa failed to achieve so and India won the match by 12 runs. BCCI announced cash rewards for the players.

The star performers for the Indian team in this edition were Taruvar Kohli, Virat Kohli, Tanmay Srivastava, Iqbal Abdullah, Ajitesh Argal, Siddharth Kaul and Ravindra Jadeja. The whole team enjoyed the success of each other and emerged victorious.