For a batsman with a minimum of 1000 FC runs, Bahir averages the most with 121.77 followed by legendary Sir Don Bradman (95.14) and Vijay Merchant (71.64). Though his numbers might take a hit in the future, it is not an easy task to overtake Bradman’s average in first-class cricket.

The 17-year-old kicked off his 2018 under-19 World Cup campaign by scoring a century and a 98 against a strong Central Districts XI. It is just a matter of time before he makes his international debut for Afghanistan. But, before that, Bahir will look to do well in the upcoming World Cup.

But, Prithvi made that transformation successfully as he set the Indian domestic circuit on fire in his first full season. In just eight first-class matches for Mumbai and one of the three Duleep Trophy sides, Prithvi has amassed 945 runs at an average of 63 at an extraordinary strike-rate of 75.

As expected, Prithvi is set to lead the Indian side in the under-19 World Cup and he has a big role to play in the tournament. A successful tournament for the Mumbaikar at the top of the order will help him gain big strides and get him closer to a national call-up.

When England toured Australia to take part in the Ashes, Sangha was a part of the Cricket Australia XI side that took on the Poms in a couple of warm-up matches in the build-up to the Ashes.

After scoring just eight runs in two innings in the first game in Townsville, which was also his first-class debut, Sangha hit a brilliant century in the second match and helped his side draw the match.

Sangha will be leading Australia in the under-19 World Cup and the right-hander will look to do well as an individual and become the first Aussie captain since Mitchell Marsh in 2010 to win the under-19 World Cup.

As a result of his brilliant performances, Shaheen was given a two-year contract by Bangladesh Premier League franchise Dhaka Dynamites. Taking inspiration from legendary Wasim Akram, Shaheen conceded that he has frequently tried to copy Akram’s bowling action and this has helped him enhance his in-swinging ability.

Standing at a towering 6’6”, the 17-year-old has the ability to swing the ball both ways and is a capable batsman down the order. If he makes his performances count in the under-19 World Cup, one can see him join the likes of Wasim Akram, Mohammad Amir, Waqar Younis etc. in the long list of quality pace prodigies produced by Pakistan.

The 16-year-old made the news in the 2017 under-19 Asia Cup in which he took a six-wicket haul against Nepal and a fifer in the final against Pakistan that led his team to victory in the tournament.

The off-spinner is the only player at the 2018 under-19 World Cup who has prior international cricket experience and he will look to prove why he got the nod ahead of his counterparts in the tournament.

With the 2018 under-19 World Cup taking place in New Zealand, Bosher has concentrated solely on the Gentlemen’s game over the last 12 months and has trained hard to marshall his troops in the tournament.

As of now, Boshier, who is a quick and bats at the top of the order, will lead the hosts in the tournament and he has got his under-19 World Cup off to a good start as he starred with both bat and ball (66 and 3/17) in his team’s win over Zimbabwe in the first warm-up match.

The tournament will play a key role in Boshier choosing a career (Rugby or Cricket) for himself in the future.

Just like his father, Austin Waugh is an all-rounder, who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm medium pace. Waugh, whose favourite cricketer is late Australian batsman Phi Hughes for his free-flowing technique with the bat, likens his game to that of India all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

In 2016, Waugh had hit an unbeaten hundred in the final of the Under-17 National Championships against Queensland before representing Australia U-19s in early 2017.
A lot is expected from Austin in the upcoming World Cup as he is an exciting talent who we can see in the Aussie colours in the near future.

He also had a very good tour of England where he picked five-wicket hauls in each innings of the first Youth Test at Chesterfield and made meaningful contributions with both bat and ball in the rest of the tour.

He has been the spearhead of the Indian under-19 team and with the World Cup fast approaching, a lot of eyes will be on him as he is likely to feature in the playing XI and take the new ball for the Boys in Blue.

He grabbed the headlines when he picked 5-56 on his debut for South Africa under-19 against West Indies earlier this year and since then, he has been receiving praises from all quarters.

He started playing the sport after seeing his father and he compares his approach to that of Indian skipper Virat Kohli. Even though he bats left-handed and bowls right-arm fast, he wants to be as aggressive as Kohli and follow his footsteps in international cricket.

Thando is a crucial member of the Protea colts who are looking to take the cup back home and win their third ICC event.

Bowlers changing ends while bowling is a common thing but changing hands in the middle of an over is something that has been unheard of. The fans have been witnessing the rise of ambidextrous bowlers of late and the Sri Lankan belongs to that category.

During that match, when a left-handed batsman was on strike, he opted to bowl with his right-arm off-spin so that he can turn the ball away from the batsman and when a right-hander was batting, he channelled his inner Rangana Herath and opted to bowl slow left-arm orthodox.

Mendis had an average tournament in 2016 and ahead of the 2018 edition, he was appointed as the captain of Sri Lanka and will look to lead from the front.