ICC World Test Championship Final: 5 India And New Zealand Players Who Were Part Of The ICC Under 19 World Cup In 2008

The ICC World Test Championship Final will be played in Southampton from June 14-18. India and New Zealand are the two teams who will fight it out for the title. Both India and New Zealand played some fantastic cricket to get to the final. New Zealand beat teams like India, West Indies, and Pakistan to reach the finals. They became the first team to reach the final after Australia postponed their tour to South Africa over COVID-19 concerns.

India, on the other hand, beat teams like England and Australia after losing to the Kiwis to kickstart their World Test Championship campaign. Meanwhile the final will see a few players who started their cricketing journey together back in 2008 in the U-19 World Cup in Malaysia. 13 years down thy line, they are now established cricketers of their respective teams.

In this article, we take a look at five players from India and New Zealand who featured in the U-19 World Cup 2008.

ICC World Test Championship Final: 5 Players From U-19 World Cup 2008

Virat Kohli

Kohli led India to a U-19 World Cup win back in 2008 ad now he has a chance to win his first major ICC title as captain. Kohli has already lost two ICC knockout games one in the 2017 Champions Trophy and one against the same opposition in the 2019 World Cup semifinal. The ICC Test Championship Final is in many ways a rematch in many ways of the ICC World Cup 2019 semifinal. Kohli scored 877 runs in the tournament.

Also Read: Top 5 Batsmen With The Most Test Centuries As A Captain

Kane Williamson

Like Kohli, Williamson also led the Kiwis in the tournament. He went onto become the best batsman across formats for the Kiwis and eventually an international captain as well. He is one of the most loved cricketers across the globe who has played with a smile despite the harshest of defeats. The ICC World Test Championship Final win will also be Kane’s first major as skipper. Thus yet again after many a close Kane vs Kohli clash is on the cards. Williamson scored 817 runs in the campaign with three double tons.

Also Read: ICC World Test Championship: 10 Best Innings Of The Tournament

Ravindra Jadeja

Jadeja who was a promising talent in 2008 has turned into one of the best all-rounders across the three formats of the game in present times. He is one among the only three cricketers to have played 50 Tests, ODIs, and T20Is along with skipper Virat Kohli and former skipper MS Dhoni.

Jadeja will be key for Kohli to help him win the final. As much as his bowling and batting are helpful to the team, his ability to change the course of the game with his fielding ability is what makes him stand out as a cricketer. He scored over 400 runs with the bat and picked 28 wickets with the ball in the WTC campaign.

Tim Southee

Southee is among one of the two pacers who came into the limelight after the 2008-U19 World Cup. He has also picked up Virat Kohli across formats several times in international cricket.

The seaming and swinging conditions in Southampton will make Southee look forward to the final. He would love to make the Duke’s ball talk. He has picked 51 wickets in the championship so far.

Trent Boult

Boult completes the list of five players from India and South Africa who played in the U-19 World Cup 2008. He ended his WTC campaign with 34 wickets and in the process formed a tremendous partnership with Southee throughout the championship. Together they picked 85 wickets as a duo.

All these five players will face off in the much-awaited World Test Championship final in Southampton to win recognition for being the best among the Test-playing nations.

Also Read: Teams With Most ICC Test Championship Mace Wins (2003-2019)