From 1988 to 2024: List of all ICC U19 World Cup winners

15 editions of ICC U19 World Cup have been played so far.

ICC U19 World Cup is one of the most exciting battles in cricket. With a big aim back in their minds, the young players from various countries take part in this prestigious tournament. 1988 marked the beginning of the mega youth event played in Australia. England’s Mike Atherton, Nasser Hussain and Mark Ramprakash, Australia’s Stuart Law and Pakistan’s Inzamam-ul-Haq put out a roadmap for several cricketers of their age group.

ICC U19 World Cup became one of the biggest platforms for the young generation of cricketers to get recognized at a global stage. This tournament provided a great opportunity for the youngsters who were looking to make a big name for themselves in the game. Since 1998, International Cricket Council has been organizing the mega youth event after every two years. Let’s have a look at the winners of the ICC U19 World Cup so far.

1. 1988 U19 World Cup – Australia (1st title) :

This was the first-ever edition of the ICC U19 World Cup. Hosts Australia were crowned the champions of the inaugural edition. Geoff Parker captained Australia to their first ever U19 World Cup title by defeating Pakistan in the finals which was played at the Adelaide Oval. Aussie opener Brett Williams scored a century (108) to guide his team to a victory. He was later awarded the player of the match for his brilliant knock. Eight teams participated in the U19 World Cup 1988 in Australia.

2. 1998 U19 World Cup – England (1st Title) :

After a long wait of 10 years, South Africa hosted the second edition of the ICC U19 World Cup in 1998. From here on, ICC continued the trend of hosting the U19 World Cup every two years. England became the champions for the first time in the U19 World Cup by defeating New Zealand by seven wickets in the finals which was played at Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. Owais Shah was the captain of English side in the 1998 U19 World Cup.

3. 2000 U19 World Cup – India (1st Title) :

U19 World Cup caravan moved from South Africa to Sri Lanka who hosted the third edition of the ICC U19 World Cup in 2000. India won the championship for the very first time after defeating Sri Lanka by six wickets in the finals which was played at Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. Mohammed Kaif led Indian team to their first ever U19 World Cup title. Kaif, Yuvraj Singh, Ajay Ratra, Venugopal Rao and Reetinder Sodhi from this team went on to play for Indian senior team.

4. 2002 U19 World Cup – Australia (2nd Title) :

Australia lifted their second ICC U19 World Cup title in 2002 edition which was played in New Zealand. Australia defeated South Africa in the finals of the fourth edition of the mega youth event. The finals was played at Bert Sutcliff Oval in Nelson and Australia won the match by seven wickets. Cameron White captained the Australian side in 2002 edition. Later he went to play for Australia at the International level across formats.

5. 2004 U19 World Cup – Pakistan (1st Title) :

After missing out on winning the tournament in the inaugural edition of the U19 World Cup, Pakistan finally got lucky in Bangladesh in the fifth edition of the U19 World Cup in 2004. Pakistan won the U19 World Cup in 2004 by defeating West Indies in the finals played at Bangabandhu National Stadium in Dhaka. Pakistan won the game by 25 runs. Seven players from this Pakistan U19 side went to represent Pakistan senior men’s team at international level including skipper Khalid Latif.

6. 2006 U19 World Cup – Pakistan (2nd Title) :

Pakistan won their second ICC U19 World Cup title defeating India in the finals of the 2006 edition. This was one of the most memorable finals played in the U19 World Cup history. Sri Lanka hosted the tournament for the second time and the finals was played at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.

It was a low-scoring encounter between Pakistan and India. Pakistan won the game by 38 runs and successfully defended a small target of 109 runs against India. Pakistan rattled Indian batting line-up and bowled them out for just 71 runs. Sarfaraz Ahmed was the captain of Pakistan U19 side. He later went on to lead Pakistan senior men’s team in international cricket.

7. 2008 U19 World Cup – India (2nd Title) :

This U19 World Cup brought so many talents to Indian cricket. From skipper Virat Kohli to all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, 2008 U19 batch was a special one for Indian cricket. Just like Pakistan’s win in 2006, India lifted the title in 2008 by winning a low-scoring thriller against South Africa in the final. Malaysia hosted the seventh edition of the U19 World Cup tournament which India went on to win after a gap of eight years. India defeated South Africa in the final by 12 runs via Duckworth-Lewis (D/L) method.

8. 2010 U19 World Cup – Australia (3rd Title) :

After Malaysia, the tournament once again moved to New Zealand. New Zealand hosted the eighth edition of the ICC U19 World Cup and second on their soil. Australia showed their dominance in the tournament and defeated Pakistan by 25 runs in the final at Bert Sutcliff Oval in Nelson to lift the trophy.

Mitchell Marsh was the captain of Australia U19 side in this edition, who later went on to lead his side for their second U19 title. Josh Hazlewood, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa and Nic Maddinson were also part of this Australian squad who later on represented Australia senior men’s team.

9. 2012 U19 World Cup – India (3rd Title) :

The finals of the U19 World Cup 2012 was held at Tony Ireland Stadium in Australia. Unmukt Chand-led Indian side came out winning their third U19 World Cup title after defeating hosts Australia in the big finals. India won the game by six wickets. Despite a successful campaign, only two players (Sandeep Sharma and Hanuma Vihari) from this team went on to represent India’s senior men’s team. Unmukt Chand scored a century (111*) in the final match of the tournament.

10. 2014 U19 World Cup – South Africa (1st Title) :

South Africa broke the jinx of ‘No ICC Title’ in the mega youth event in 2014. UAE hosted the 2014 U19 World Cup, in which South Africa went on to win the title for the very first time in the history. South Africa defeated Pakistan in the finals played at Dubai Sports Club. South Africa under Aiden Markram’s leadership defeated Pakistan by six wickets in a low-scoring match. Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada were part of the South African U19 World Cup winning side. These two are currently part of Proteas senior men’s team.

11. 2016 U19 World Cup – West Indies (1st Title) :

Bangladesh once again got the chance to host U19 World Cup in 2016. 11th edition of the U19 World Cup was the second tournament held in Bangladesh after a gap of 12 years. West Indies won their first ever U19 World Cup title by defeating India in the finals. West Indies defeated India by five wickets in the finals which was played at Sher-e-Bangla Stadium in Dhaka. Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph, Odean Smith, Keemo Paul, Obed Mccoy and Keacy Carty went on to play international cricket for West Indies.

12. 2018 U19 World Cup – India (4th Title) :

In 2018, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill took Indian side to their record-breaking fourth U19 World Cup title making them the most successful side in the tournament’s history. India once again defeated Australia in the finals which was played at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui. India had a dominating run in the 12th edition of the youth mega event and defeated Australia by eight wickets in the final. So far, Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Shivam Mavi, and Arshdeep Singh from this batch have made their represented India’s senior men’s team.

13. 2020 U19 World Cup – Bangladesh (1st Title) :

Bangladesh won their first ever ICC U19 World Cup title in 2020 after defeating India in an infamous final at JB Marks Oval, Potchefstroom in South Africa. Bangladesh after winning the toss, invited India to bat first and dismissed them for 177. They later chased down the target losing seven wickets to lift their maiden ICC title, be it a U19 event. Players from both the teams were involved in an ugly altercation following the game. The likes of Shoriful Islam, Towhid Hridoy, Tanzid Hasan and Tanzim Hasan Sakib from this batch have represented Bangladesh’s senior men’s team already.

While the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ravi Bishnoi and Tilak Varma have played for Indian side in senior men’s international cricket.

14. 2022 U19 World Cup – India (5th Title) :

For the first time in the history, West Indies hosted the ICC U19 World Cup. India won the 14th edition of the ICC U19 World Cup. India defeated England in the finals of the tournament by four wickets at Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Trinidad and Tobago. Right-hand batter from Delhi, Yash Dhull captained India to their fifth ICC U19 World Cup title. So far, no player from this Indian side has represented the senior men’s team in international cricket.

15. 2024 U19 World Cup – Australia (4th title):

In the 2024 edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, Australia emerged as the champions. They defeated India U19 in the final by 79 runs to lift their fourth title in the history of the tournament. They are the second-most successful team in the history of the tournament. Only India have more (5) titles in the history of the tournament. It took Australia 14 years to win their next ICC U19 World Cup trophy. Their last title win came in 2010 under Mitchell Marsh’s captaincy.

(All details updated till 11th February, 2024)

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