The word “captaincy” includes leadership, accountability, and influence. The depth of the word goes beyond the title and not everyone can hold this weight.
Cricket is such a widely loved game, so the criticism also goes beyond the strength, and captaincy in cricket comes with a lot of pressure. To lead a cricket team is not an easy job, one must be strong-headed, emotionally intelligent, and resilient, and the list is never-ending.
Not every player who is brilliant at their job can captain a cricket team, especially in a country like India. Cricket is treated equally to a religion in a significant part of the world. So, here is the list of a few under-19 Captains, who were trained to become the leading captains of their respective countries.
1. Virat Kohli
A famous household name known as the king of the game, Virat Kohli, born in November 1988, was one of the best captains of the Indian Cricket Team. Little did we know, he had been prepared for the role since he was 19. He is known for his aggressive approach towards the game,later he brought that approach into his captaincy.
He captained the under-19 Indian Cricket Team and later on, won the world cup. He has also captained in all the formats for the National Cricket Team. He is one of the most celebrated cricket players in the world.
2. Aiden Markram
The present captain of the South African Cricket Team is well-groomed captain. Aiden Kyle Markram was born in October 1994. He was the first captain of his country to win an under-19 World Cup.
He recently led the South African Team in the world cup 2024.
3. Kane Williamson
Kane Williamson, born in August 1990, is an orthodox right-hand opening batter for New Zealand in all three formats of the game. He is one the best captains of the New Zealand Cricket Team. Even in his teen years, he was calm and composed that still is one of the critical factors for his brilliant performance and captaincy. He captained the Under-19 team and later on, the National Cricket Team in all three formats.
4. Sarfaraz Ahmed
The former Pakistan Captain, Sarfaraz Ahmed, was born in May 1987. He is a right-hand wicketkeeper batter who bats in middle order. He is the first captain after Imran Khan to win a 50-over world cup. He also captained the Pakistan’s under-19 team.
He was Pakistan’s most competent captains and he could keep the wickets in all the formats of the game.
5. Alistair Cook
One of England’s most incredible batter, Sir Alistair Cook, was born in December 1984. His grit and determination for the game made him a great player, especially in the most prestigious format of the game, Test. The same grit and determination reflected in his captaincy. He also captained England’s Under-19 cricket team in the year 2004.
This world-class player took an early retirement from the game at the age of 33, which left England fans in shock.
6. Mitchell Marsh
An Australian Prodigy, Mitchell Ross Marsh, was born in October 1991. Recently, the star allrounder has conquered all three formats of the game. His first breakthrough was in a T20 game, followed by ODIs and Tests. He made his T20 debut at a very young age of 19.
He captained Australia’s under-19 cricket team and led it to victory in 2010 in New Zealand. Later on, he became the T20 captain of the Australian Cricket Team.
7. Babar Azam
Pakistan’s greatest asset, Babar Azam, was born in October 1994. He is a top-order right-hand batter known for his orthodox and disciplined batting in tough times. This young player has so much potential that he has been compared to the greats like Virat Kohli.
Babar was the former captain of the Pakistan National Cricket team in all three formats. Earlier, he captained Pakistan’s under-19 team in the year 2012.
Babar Azam to date is Pakistan’s one of the finest and once-in-a-generation-players.
8. Kraigg Brathwaite
Kraigg Clairmonte Brathwaite, a Barbadian cricketer, was born in December 1992. He made his first-class debut at the very young age of 16. Later on, he was called up by the West Indies national cricket team to play for the national side.
He captained the West Indies cricket team in the most prestigious format of the game i.e., test cricket. Earlier he captained the West Indies under-19 team in the year 2012.
9. Brian Lara
Who doesn’t know, Brian Lara. He was born in May 1969. After Sir Don Bradman, he is regarded as one of the most massive run-getters of all time. He was also known for his indifferent stance.
Brian Charles Lara started playing cricket very early and became the youngest captain of Trinidad. He made his test debut at the very same age. He was the complete source of entertainment on and off the field. He is the greatest batsman of the modern era. He captained his national team and the under-19 World Cup team at 19.
10. Andrew Flintoff
Andrew Flintoff was born in December 1977. He had a fussy cricketing career. This England allrounder has captained his national team as well as England’s Under-19 World Cup team.
His bowling was one of the key aspects that made him a promising cricketing star in the future. His body didn’t support him much during his injury and, that too affected his game. He was given the nickname “Freddie”.
Soon in year 2010, Andrew Flintoff bid goodbye to cricket at a very young age.
In Conclusion, these were a few extraordinary great players who could not only play a fantastic cricket, but had the mental strength to lead such a highly competitive and criticized game in the world.
