Sameer Minhas, Thomas Rew, and the Blignaut twins among players to watch in Group C

Pakistan's Minhas enters the tournament as one of the most promising batters in the fray. Minhas turned heads in the Under-19 Asia Cup in December, when he smashed a match-winning 172 off just 113 balls in the final against India.

The opener was the highest run-scorer in the tournament, in which he also hit 177* against Malaysia. Minhas continued his form into the tri-series in Zimbabwe, also featuring Afghanistan Under-19. He scored two centuries against the hosts, including one in the final, apart from a fifty against Afghanistan.

Tall, fast, and highly regarded by coaches in Pakistan, Raza is set to make a splash in the Under-19 World Cup. Yet to turn 18, Raza made his Pakistan Super League debut in the 2025 season, and returned 12 wickets in nine matches for Peshawar Zalmi. In the U-19 Asia Cup final against India, Raza picked up four wickets, including the prized ones of Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.

Raza also has the experience of six first-class games and 12 List A matches, and that could help him make a difference for Pakistan.

His brother James nearly scored a century in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup final, and Thomas, a wicketkeeper-batter, is touted to be even better. Four years later, he will be leading England Under-19 in the World Cup.

He has already made his T20 and List A debuts for Somerset, and made his first-class debut against Australia A during England Lions' tour down under. Thomas has the experience of 15 Youth ODIs and four Youth Tests, having been England Under-19's highest run-getter in the five-match one-day series against India last July.

Like Thomas, Farhan's older brother Rehan Ahmed, now a capped allrounder for England, also played in the 2022 Under-19 World Cup. With half a season of County cricket experience under his belt, Farhan is expected to be fastracked as England's next offspinner, and will be key for the Under-19 team's hopes in the World Cup.

One half of the Blignaut twins - sons of the former Zimbabwe allrounder Andy Blignaut - Kian is a batter who has shown a lot of promise. He doesn't come into the tournament in great form, but on List A debut, scored 47 for Zimbabwe A against Scotland last April, showing he can already hold his own against international attacks.

Kian's brother Michael, also a batter, bats lower down the order. But he has half-centuries against South Africa and Pakistan's Under-19 teams to show, and is expected to play a big role for the co-hosts.