5 Foreign Stars Who Could Shine in The Under-19 World Cup

• The upcoming edition of the Under-19 World Cup is to be held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February.
  
• The thirteenth edition will see sixteen teams divided into four groups.
  
• India will start the tournament as the defending champions.
  

The upcoming edition of the Under-19 World Cup to be held in South Africa from 17 January to 9 February will once again provide the young stars with an opportunity to make a name for themselves with the peering eyes of the world on them.

The thirteenth edition will see sixteen teams divided into four groups competing in the edition with only the top two from each side qualifying for the Super League.

The Indian team will start the tournament as the defending champions and are placed in Group A that also has New Zealand, Sri Lanka and new-entrants Japan.

They will start their campaign on 19 January against Sri Lanka, and will hope to churn out yet another memorable showing in the Youth World Cup.

The stage is, thus, set for the young legs to replicate the feats of Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson and Eoin Morgan among others - all players who graduated to the big league after playing in the Under-19 Championship.

Here are five international cricketers who will be aiming to leapfrog to the biggest stage with a good showing in South Africa.

Towhid Hridoy (Bangladesh)

One of the most exciting players in the youth circuit, Hridhoy will play his second Under-19 World Cup after turning out for the team in the event two years ago. The 18-year old had scored a hundred against Canada in New Zealand in 2018 and has, since, gone from strength to strength, leaving his impact in the Bangladesh Premier League and the domestic circuit.

Hridhoy made his First-CLass debut for Rajshahi Division in 2017-18 and turned out for his first List A game a year later.

He walks into the edition on the back of some stellar showings for the Bangladesh Under-19 team, including three successive hundreds that came against the Sri Lanka colts in Chattogram.

The Bangladeshi’s last ten innings with the bat read 52, 26, 40, 51*, 73, 8, 82*, 123*, 115 and 111, and he was duly awarded for his form as as he was named as the vice-captain of the team that will fight it out in South Africa.

George Balderson (England)

The Lancashire all-rounder will captain the England side in the Youth World Cup, and he will walk into the edition with plenty of confidence after a good run in the recent past.

The 19-year old recently skippered the Three Lions in the Rising Stars Tri-Series in Antigua last month that also featured Sri Lanka and West Indies.

Though the English side went down to the Lankans in the finals, Balderson, in particular, will be pleased with the way he performed and led. The leader was in fiery form in the series picking up 15 wickets in five games at an average of just under 10.50 to end as the second-highest wicket-taker.

In the last 12 months (since January 10, 2019), Balderson has scalped 24 wickets in 12 games in Youth ODIs - the fourth highest in the world.

He has been economical as well, conceding runs at a rate of 4.80, and with the tracks in South Africa having plenty in it for the seamers, the English youngster could very well turn out to be a big threat.

Jake Fraser McGurk (Australia)

Victoria’s teenage sensation Jake Fraser McGurk, aged only 17 years of age, has already impressed with his mature and calm batting in the Sheffield Shield tournament.

Making his debut for Victoria in November, the youngster scored a fifty on debut and ended the game with 70 runs, including a fine 51 in the first innings.

He became the third youngest player to make his Shield debut for Victoria and announced himself to the Australian cricket community.

McGurk soon made his List A debut as well, and once again left his mark, scoring 54 and 41* runs that he played against New South Wales and South Australia respectively.

Though the cricketer has played just three games in the Youth ODI stage, he has already been earmarked as a potential star-in-the-making, and he will be eager to show off his skills on the biggest platform of his career thus far.

Gerald Coetzee (South Africa)

The right-arm fast bowler is currently ninth in the all-time list of the highest Under-19 wicket-takers from South Africa with 25 scalps, behind the likes of Wayne Parnell, Wiaan Mulder and Kagiso Rabada.

This will be his second outing in the Under-19 World Cup, having played and impressed in the last edition where he managed to pick up eight wickets from four games, including a five-wicket haul.

The youngster already has 17 wickets from just four FC games at an average of less than 25 and has also impressed in List A matches, picking up 10 wickets in five innings at an average of 17.20.

His nagging lines and pace aided by his height has made him a force to reckon with, and he was in top form in last year’s Mzansi Super League (MSL) before an injury cut short his tournament.

Prior to the MSL, Coetzee played in the Four-Day Franchise Series where he picked up 17 wickets, which helped him earn a call up to the Jozi Stars outfit before he was ruled out due to a hamstring injury after just two games.

He, however, staged a remarkable comeback after a long lay-off, picking up 3 for 19 against India in the Quadrangular series in his first outing this month, and Coetzee will be eager to carry on in the same vein.

Ashmead Nedd (West Indies)

Playing in his second Under-19 World Cup, Nedd walks into the tournament in South Africa on the back of some stellar returns with the ball in hand.

His left-arm orthodox bowling played a huge role in helping the West Indies Emerging Team win the Super 50 Cup last year, as he went on to pick 11 wickets at an economy rate of an impressive 3.27.

In the following Under-19 Tri-Series against England and Sri Lanka, Nedd returned with 9 wickets and picked up two three-wicket hauls in the short tournament.

The former Under-15 star might find the conditions in South Africa challenging but he has made it a habit of raising his game and bamboozling the rivals with his googlies, which makes him a player to watch out for.