ICC U-19 World Cup 2026: From Vaibhav Suryavanshi to Oliver Peake, five players to watch out for

The ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is often seen as the springboard for the future greats of the game. Be it Virat Kohli or Yuvraj Singh or Tim Southee, or modern greats like Aiden Markram and Shubman Gill, success on this stage goes a long way in catapulting them to the biggest stage.

The 2026 tournament beginning in January in Zimbabwe and Namibia will be no different, with many talented young players, who are already beginning to make a name for themselves in the cricketing world, taking the field.

Here are some of the most exciting prospects you should keep an eye on:

Vaibhav Suryavanshi (India)

At only 14 years old, Vaibhav Suryavanshi is an exceptionally talented player who is expected to be one of the tournament's biggest attractions.

He announced his arrival by scoring a century on his India U-19 debut at just 13. Suryavanshi followed that by becoming the youngest player to secure an IPL contract and then hit a 35-ball century, the second-fastest in the competition's history.

An aggressive batter, he made a splash at the recent U-19 Asia Cup, too, with 262 runs at an average over 50 and a strike rate of 182. He also set a record for the fastest Youth ODI century with his incredible 171 from 95 balls against the UAE.

Oliver Peake (Australia)

Oliver Peake heads to the tournament with the experience of a champion, as he was part of Australia’s victorious 2024 squad as an injury replacement.

He played a key role with important runs in both the semifinal and final that year. Since then, his career has taken off with his first Big Bash contract and a first-class debut for Victoria. Peake was also invited to join Australia’s Test tour of Sri Lanka to gain experience in sub-continental conditions and integrate with the senior team. This year, he will lead the side as captain.

Sameer Minhas (Pakistan)

For a Pakistani cricketer, there are few better ways to capture the imagination of your country than a record-breaking century in a tournament final victory. That too, against arch-rivals India. That is exactly what Sameer Minhas achieved when he smashed a swashbuckling 172 in the U-19 Asia Cup final victory for Pakistan, the highest score in the final of an U-19 tournament, and the highest score ever by a Pakistan U-19 batter.

Racking up 471 runs in five innings with two hundreds and a fifty, nearly 200 more than any other player, he comes into the tournament in supreme form.

Farhan Ahmed (England)

The younger brother of England international Rehan Ahmed, Farhan has already rewritten the record books of the English county game. He was just 16 when he made his senior debut for Nottinghamshire, their second youngest player in history, while in 2024, he became the youngest-ever player to take 10 wickets in a first-class match, breaking a record that had belonged to W.G. Grace since 1865.

This will be his second ICC U-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, captaining the team this time around after finishing as England’s second highest wicket-taker two years ago.

Jorich van Schalkwyk (South Africa)

Jorich van Schalkwyk began the summer by breaking a 25-year record for South Africa U-19s before taking down a global mark a matter of days later.

The opening bat overhauled Jacques Rudolph’s mark from 2000 when he smashed an unbeaten 164 against Bangladesh in July before he became the first double centurion in men’s Youth ODIs three days later with 215 against Zimbabwe in Harare.

He has followed that up with a first-class debut and will now aim to be the third successive South African to be named Player of the Tournament after Dewald Brevis and Kwena Maphaka.