An opening batsman of considerable talent, Varun Chopra impressed as captain of England Under-19s, who he led to a comprehensive series whitewash of Sri Lanka in 2005. He was on fire himself, averaging 48 in the Tests and striking a half-century in one of the two ODIs. But life was about to get immediately tougher for him and his side - an 11-0 pasting followed on the winter tour of Bangladesh.

Chopra's own form with the bat was largely indifferent - although he did find form towards the end with 77 and 98 - and he lost the captaincy for the Under-19 World Cup in Sri Lanka in February, but he was reinstated for the 2006 summer series against India.

With a resolute temperament and the talent to match, Chopra has been tipped for the top. Graham Gooch is a fan, calling him "a smart lad who works hard at his game and has a natural eye for a ball." Gooch first encountered him at an Indian coaching camp. "He looked a good player then - upright and likes to play off the front and back foots straight through cover."

As with many young batsman the talent has been a little slow to fully emerge, but even with the likes of Gooch to mentor him at Chelmsford he struggled to make the grade and moved to Warwickshire.
Jenny Thompson April 2010.