In a couple of day, India will open their U-19 World Cup campaign against the USA. They arrive with the weight of expectations and tag of favourites draped over their shoulders. And this time, that belief feels justified.
Thirteen victories from 16 matches since last year, series wins in England, Australia and South Africa — this is a team that has learned how to win and how to do that away from home. History, too, stands firmly in their corner. Five titles already rest in India’s cabinet, a reminder that this is a tournament they understand better than most.
On paper, the squad looks balanced and is as formidable as any team, if not better. Yet, even the strongest armour has its weak seams. This team also has a few problems heading into the World Cup. The biggest of them all is the form of captain Ayush Mhatre.
In many ways, his situation mirrors that of his Mumbai senior, Suryakumar Yadav. Leaders of their respective teams, they are burdened with responsibility and starved of runs. The similarity, however, ends there. While Surya’s lean patch has lingered, Mhatre’s story is more complex.
Numbers at the youth level paint a bleak picture. Mhatre’s last 10 innings in Youth ODIs read like a sequence of missed chances: 22, 2, 7, 14, 38, 4, 4, 0, 6, 1. A glance at that list suggests a batter lost, searching for rhythm. But cricket, as always, demands a deeper look. Shift the lens to senior cricket and the narrative changes dramatically. In his last 10 innings across formats, the 18-year-old has struck two centuries and a fifty, performances of authority against stronger, more experienced attacks.
It is a curious contradiction. A batter struggling to reach 50 in youth cricket is flourishing at the higher level. Usually, prodigies are told to translate their junior-level success to the senior arena. For Mhatre, the situation is different. He looks assured among seniors, but burdened and rushed in youth colours.
The reasons are not hard to find. A closer look at his dismissals reveals no single flaw, but a mindset issue. Modern white ball cricket rewards aggression, often to an excess. As opener, Mhatre has been charging too hard, too early, taking risks that a 50-over game does not demand. He does not lack talent, far from it. In ability, he stands shoulder-to-shoulder with someone like Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. He needs patience. A little time. A few overs to settle, to let the innings come to him rather than forcing it.
There have been encouraging signs. In the second warm-up match against England U-19, on a tricky Bulawayo surface, Mhatre played a brave, counterattacking knock of 49 after early wickets. It was not a big score, but carried intent and maturity.
Mhatre the leader has already earned his stripes. Now, India hopes to witness Mhatre the batter, free, fearless and fluent. If he finds rhythm, he could define India’s journey.
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