Saumy Pandey beats Ravi Bishnoi to massive Under 19 World Cup record for India

India U19 lost the finals of the ICC Under-19 World Cup 2024 against Australia U19 and failed to defend their title. However, Indian players performed notably well in the tournament with skipper Uday Saharan ending up as the highest run-getter whereas Saumy Pandey was the second-highest wicket-taker of the tournament. He took 18 wickets in seven matches at an average of 10.28 which is the highest by an Indian in the ICC Under-19 World Cups.

Before Saumy Pandey, Ravi Bishnoi was the highest wicket-taker for India in the Under-19 World Cup as he took 17 wickets in the 2020 edition. Coincidentally both Ravi Bishnoi and Saumy Pandey ended up being the runners-up of the tournament.

Saumy Pandey broke Ravi Bishnoi’s record and became the highest wicket-taker for India in the Under-19 World Cups. He has been consistent throughout the tournament and helped India to reach the finals of the Under-19 World Cup.

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Saumy Pandey is a spin-bowling all-rounder and belongs to Madhya Pradesh. He was born to Krishna Kumar Pandey, a Hindi teacher in the Sidhi district of Madhya Pradesh.

Saumy Pandey’s father wanted him to be a doctor but his passion for cricket made the family relocate to Rewa where he was put in an academy and developed his skills under coach Aril Anthony who revealed that his idol is the current No.1 Test all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

Saumy Pandey was also the vice-captain of the Indian side in this ICC Under-19 World Cup and also ended up being one of the best bowlers in the tournament with 18 wickets at an average of 10.28 in seven matches.

India U19 and Australia U19 faced each other in the Under-19 World Cup finals for the third time. The previous two final encounters in the finals were won by India in 2012 and 2018 under Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw respectively.

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Saumy Pandey Is A Thinking Bowler According To His Coach

“Right from a very young age, I had observed one thing that he is a very practical bowler. He is excellent in matches and that you can see in his bowling. He uses the crease very well, varies his pace, and always tries to spin the bowl. People think he keeps bowling on one spot, but I disagree, he hits the good length more often,” said Aril Anthony about Saumy.

He is one of the future stars who can play for the Indian team. Saumy Pandey is very clear about his goals and he is clear that he has to play Ranji Trophy first before trying for the IPL.

He denied the offer of being a net bowler by an IPL franchise and said that he would be playing for India U19 as he was also the vice-captain of the side. India.

After his terrific performance in the ICC Under-19 World Cup, Saumy could be seen playing in the Ranji Trophy soon. He would be probably playing for the Madhya Pradesh team in domestic cricket and he aims to play Test cricket for India.

Saumy Pandey is one step closer to his aim after his performance in the World Cup.

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