India U-19's tour of England, consisting of five Youth ODIs and two Youth Tests, came to an end this week. Here are six breakout stars from the series.
Vihaan Malhotra
Left-handed, lanky and technically correct, India's No.3 displayed shades of Rachin Ravindra on this tour (though his red handkerchief and century celebration were rather more Shubman Gill-esque). The eyes, naturally, were drawn to the likes of Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre when India batted, but Malhotra quietly compiled a series to remember. He peeled off 243 runs in the ODIs, striking at a shade below 100, with the standout knock his 129 in the fourth match as India racked up 363-9.
In the two 'Tests' that followed, he was even more consistent, with scores of 67, 63, 120 and 27. Malhotra also chipped in with three wickets in three innings. In 2022-23, for Punjab, he was the leading run-scorer in the U16 Vijay Merchant Trophy.
Thomas Rew
In June, James Rew earned a maiden call-up to England's Test squad, and the signs now point towards the younger Rew, Thomas, being on a similar path. Captain and wicketkeeper for the ODIs, Rew finished as the second-highest run-scorer in the series with 280 to his name, averaging 93 and striking at 142. His 131 in the second game led England to a thrilling chase of 291.
He gave a good account of himself in the 'Tests' as well, with two half-centuries. The 17-year-old has already played senior cricket, with three T20s for Somerset before this series began.
RS Ambrish
India's search for a seam-bowling all-rounder is eternal, and there is another potentially in the pipeline in the form of Tamil Nadu's left-hand batter and right-arm quick RS Ambrish. His bowling took centre-stage at the start of the tour, as he returned 2-24 and an expensive 4-80 in the first two ODIs. In the third, he took India over the line in a run-chase with 31* from No.8. In the fifth, he walked in at 112-5 and scored a brisk, unbeaten 66 even as wickets fell around him.
Ambrish excelled in the first 'Test' with both bat and ball, scoring 70 & 53 from No.7, and taking four wickets in all, primarily as a first-change bowler. He has played twice for Tamil Nadu's U23 side, both earlier this year in the CK Nayudu Trophy.
Hamza Shaikh
A marginal shout based on this series alone, but top-order batter Hamza Shaikh played the first 'Test', before joining the Professional County Club Select XI to take on Pakistan Shaheens. Skipper of the red-ball outfit, Shaikh made a composed 84 at Beckenham, before throwing his wicket away somewhat to the part-time spin of Vaibhav Suryavanshi.
Shaikh made amends somewhat with a breezy 112 in the second innings, before running himself out attempting a double. He has been in good form for Warwickshire's 2nd XI this season, with half-centuries in three of his last four games. After leaving the U19 squad here, he made 44 and 54* in the first two one-day matches against the Shaheens.
Kanishk Chouhan
From one Indian all-rounder to another, but this time not the type of player that is in short supply. Off-spinner Kanishk Chouhan was excellent in the first ODI, ripping through England's middle-order in a miserly spell of 3-20 in 10 overs. Two games later, he took 3-30 before scoring an unbeaten 43 to help India home in the company of Ambrish.
Chouhan's impact in the lone four-day game he played was limited, but he did keep things tight with ball in hand. He also comes with a reputation of six-hitting at the youth level, but that didn't quite come to the fore in this series.
Ralphie Albert
Before this series, left-arm spinner Ralphie Albert's big claim to fame might have been his grandfather, snooker legend Jimmy White, but he has now started to carve out a name for himself. Albert took only four wickets in the one-day games this series, but came into his own with both bat and ball in the four-day games.
He struck an important 50 from No.8 in the first innings of the first 'Test', following on from his 3-95. In the second, he was England's star with 6-53 including the wickets of all of India's No.s 3-7, triggering a collapse to hand his side a 30-run lead. In the fourth innings, India looked on course to chase an incredible 355 at almost eight an over, before Albert's dismissals of Ayush Mhatre, Vihaan Malhotra and Abhigyan Kundu put the brakes on. He also got rid of RS Ambrish later on to finish with 10 in the match.
A member of the Surrey Academy, Albert has played seven times for the county's Second XI, across formats.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi & Ayush Mhatre
Breakout stars? Probably not, given these two have already played (and excelled) in the IPL.
But Suryavanshi and Mhatre were the leading run-scorers in the ODIs and Tests respectively, and had at least one standout performance each.
Suryavanshi's 143 in the fourth 50-over game was the fastest-recorded century in Youth ODIs. He finished the series with 355 runs at 71, and an eye-popping strike rate of 174.
Mhatre, meanwhile, scored at better than run-a-ball across the two Tests, and led the charge in India's audacious chase of 355 in the second – his century came off 64 balls, before he was dismissed for 126 off 80. The match eventually ended in a draw, but for a good while the visitors had a solid chance of pulling off a win.
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