The list of players to be named Player of the Tournament at the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup is almost a who’s who of all-time greats.
From the very first recipient, Yuvraj Singh back in 2000, to more recent winners like Aiden Markram and Shubman Gill, via New Zealand great Tim Southee, performing well on this stage is usually a sign of future greatness.
That should be no different in 2026, with a host of players set for starring roles including some who are already making a name for themselves on the global stage.
Here are some of those you should be watching out for:
AFGHANISTAN – Faisal Shinozoda
At the recent ACA U19 Men’s Asia Cup, Faisal Shinozoda caught the eye as he racked up 155 runs across three innings including a brilliant century against Bangladesh.
He appears to enjoy playing Bangladesh, having also brought up three figures against them earlier in 2025, while Faisal scored a pair of half-centuries when Afghanistan toured India in November.
A right-handed top order batter, Faisal has shown that he is capable of racking up runs both as an opener and at No 3.
AUSTRALIA – Oliver Peake
Oliver Peake arrives in Zimbabwe and Namibia knowing what it takes to win this tournament, having been called up as injury cover two years ago as Australia triumphed.
He scored valuable runs in both the semifinal and final in 2024 and has kicked on since then with a first Big Bash deal and a first-class debut for Victoria.
Not only that, Peake was called up to Australia’s test tour of Sri Lanka in February to get experience of sub-continental conditions and become accustomed to the team environment. He will captain the team this time around.
BANGLADESH – Rizan Hossan
A pace-bowling allrounder who is also a very handy batter, Rizan Hossan will hope to one day be as influential for Bangladesh as his hero Ben Stokes has been for England.
Although he was a little quieter during the U19 Asia Cup, Rizan showed his worth earlier in the year with back-to-back half-centuries against Afghanistan, while he also scored a brilliant century against England on a summer tour.
Whether it is his middle order batting or first-change bowling, Rizan will have a big role to play for Bangladesh.
ENGLAND – Farhan Ahmed
The younger brother of full England international Rehan Ahmed, Farhan Ahmed has already rewritten the record books of the English county game.
Ahmed 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 U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, captaining the team this time around after finishing as England’s second highest wicket-taker two years ago.
INDIA – Vaibhav Sooryavanshi
Still only 14, cricket might not have seen a talent as prodigious as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who will be one of the star attractions at this tournament.
Announcing himself as a superstar with a century on debut for India U19 while still only 13, Sooryavanshi then went on to become the youngest player to sign an IPL contract before smashing a 35-ball century, the second fastest in the competition’s history.
A destructive batter, he scored 262 runs in the recent U19 Asia Cup, averaging more than 50 with a strike rate of 182, breaking the record for the quickest Youth ODI century on his way to 171 from 95 balls against the UAE.
IRELAND – Adam Leckey
When Ireland embarked on a groundbreaking tour of Zimbabwe earlier this year, Adam Leckey showed that he was the foundation of their batting line-up with a string of stellar displays.
As he returns to southern Africa, the opener will be hoping to build on some remarkable performances, after racking up 323 runs in five innings with four half-centuries.
The recipient of the 2025/26 Cricket Ireland Overseas Scholarship, Leckey followed in the footsteps of Harry Tector and Andrew Balbirnie in spending time in Australia with Randwick Petersham.
NEW ZEALAND – Aryan Mann
A wicketkeeper batter, Aryan Mann made a dream start to first-class cricket with a pair of half-centuries on debut in November.
Playing for Northern Districts alongside the likes of Jeet Raval, Mann showed he was eminently capable of excelling at the highest level.
He had previously impressed for Northern Districts at U19 level and will now look to help New Zealand to their first title, with their best previous showing a final appearance in 1998.
PAKISTAN – Sameer Minhas
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 is exactly what Sameer Minhas achieved when he smashed a swashbuckling 172 in the U19 Asia Cup final victory for Pakistan, the highest score in the final of an U19 tournament, and the highest score ever by a Pakistan U19 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.
SOUTH AFRICA – Jorich van Schalkwyk
Jorich van Schalkwyk began the summer by breaking a 25-year record for South Africa U19s 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.
SRI LANKA – Sethmika Seneviratne
It will have been 10 years since Sri Lanka last made it to the semifinals of the tournament and if they are to match or better the class of 2016, then Sethmika Seneviratne will have a big role to play.
The right-arm medium pacer is a handy batter, but it is with the ball where he does the most damage.
During the recent U19 Asia Cup, he picked up eight wickets at an average of 15.75 and an economy rate just over four, while he also proved prolific on a tour of the West Indies in September.
WEST INDIES – Jonathan van Lange
A multi-sport athlete, Jonathan van Lange has thrived for West Indies U19, but is also a national table tennis champion.
And yet, he still has a way to go to be recognised as the best athlete in his family, with his older sister having represented Guyana in the women’s 100m freestyle at the 2012 Olympics.
Alongside skipper Joshua Dorne, Van Lange will be a crucial figure in the West Indian batting line-up.
ZIMBABWE – Kian Blignaut
One half of a pair of twins with a very famous name in Zimbabwean cricketing circles, Kian Blignaut will join his brother Michael in looking to step out of the shadow of their father Andy.
A top-order batter who can also bowl leg spin, Blignaut caught the eye with 47 for Zimbabwe A against Scotland last April.
He also scored a fine century against Zimbabwe domestic franchise, the Rhinos in November for Zimbabwe U19, finishing unbeaten on 110 in the two-wicket victory that featured a century stand with his brother.