Graduates of the Under-19 school
A look back at how some of the big names in international cricket fared at Under-19 World Cups

Brian Lara had modest returns at the first Under-19 World Cup • Getty Images
Brian Lara had an indifferent start against Australia but he immediately made amends in the next game against New Zealand with a half-century. He batted at Nos. 3 and 4 and scored 222 runs in the tournament to see West Indies through to the semi-finals, where he scored 42 in a narrow loss to Pakistan.
Chris Gayle announced himself on the international stage with a half-century against Australia but his century stand with Darren Ganga was not enough on the day as West Indies lost by 71 runs. Gayle added two more half centuries - against Denmark and Namibia - before exploding in the plate final against Bangladesh when he scored an unbeaten 141. Although West Indies lost that match, Gayle ended up as tournament's leading run-scorer with 364 runs at an average of 72.80.
Graeme Smith led the batting charts with 348 runs in six innings. He scored four half-centuries in the tournament with an unbeaten 38 being his lowest score. His best effort, 82 not out, came against Zimbabwe in South Africa's penultimate match.
South Africa's only Test triple centurion, Hashim Amla, led his side to their first appearance in the tournament final but lost to Australia. Amla showed glimpses of his batting ability as he scored two half-centuries - 53 against Bangladesh and an important 62 in the semi-final against India. Amla finished with 191 runs from seven innings at an average of 27.28.
Unlike his Test debut, Alastair Cook started the Under-19 World Cup with a failure - against Nepal. But in the second week of the tournament, Cook slammed back-to-back centuries; both times 108 not out off 131 balls, against New Zealand and Zimbabwe and followed it up with 87 against eventual tournament winners Pakistan. Cook's three big innings put him on the second spot for tournament's leading run-scorers; he scored 383 runs at an average of 76.60. Suresh Raina laid the foundation of his ODI success in this tournament with three fifty-plus scores - one of them, a brutal 38-ball 90 that helped India crush Scotland by 270 runs.
Bangladesh's ace allrounder Shakib al Hasan had a modest tournament but he proved his all-round worth with 150 runs and seven wickets in six matches. But Shakib was at his best in Bangladesh's four-wicket win over Pakistan as he picked up the top four in the batting order to return with figures of 10-1-34-4. He also scored an attacking 67 as Bangladesh beat hosts Sri Lanka by 98 runs at the SCC in Colombo.
Virat Kohli led India to their second Under-19 World Cup title and even though he wasn't one of the leading scorers, he played a few key innings. The best of them was a 73-ball 100 against West Indies which helped India to a 50-run win. His 235 runs in the tournament came at an average of 47.00 while he also picked up four wickets with his slow medium-pacers.
Fast bowler Doug Bracewell made a quick jump from representing New Zealand Under-19s in the last edition of the tournament to playing Test cricket. Bracewell started with 3 for 31 against Canada but went wicketless in last three matches to finish at No. 35 in the wicket-takers list.
Devashish Fuloria is a sub-editor with ESPNcricinfo