5 youngest players in Under 19 World Cup 2026 ft. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi

The Under 19 World Cup 2026 has seen some of the exciting young talents making a massive mark in the tournament.

The ICC U19 World Cup 2026 in Zimbabwe and Namibia has brought together the best teenage talent from sixteen countries. Most squads feature players aged eighteen or nineteen.

However, a few gifted kids have broken into their national teams much earlier. These outliers are often three or four years younger than their teammates. They have skills that make you forget how young they actually are.

Coaches and selectors have put them on the fast track. They are betting on raw talent over years of experience. Having them there adds a cool layer to the story of the tournament. They go up against opponents who are physically bigger and have played more games.

We’re looking at five of these young stars who are making a name for themselves on the world stage.

5. Montgomery Hara-Hinze (Japan) – 16 years

First on the list of 5 Youngest Players in U19 World Cup 2026 is Montgomery Hara-Hinze, 16. He gives the team a different look as a bowling all-rounder. He either takes the new ball or comes on as the first change.

He excels at maintaining pressure on the opposing team. Montgomery’s batting also gives the team some hitting power late in the game. It’s rare to see twins in a World Cup, so they get a lot of attention.

But Montgomery’s performance shows he earned his spot. Along with his brother and Waduge, he represents the bright future of Japan’s 2026 World Cup run.

4. Gabriel Hara-Hinze (Japan) – 16 years

Gabriel Hara-Hinze is one of Japan’s dynamic twins. He brings a lot of fire to the field at sixteen. He was born in December 2009. He is a right-arm medium-pacer who likes to hit the pitch hard. He plays his club cricket for Northern Suburbs.

Gabriel has already built a reputation for knocking over stumps. While some bowlers just look for swing, Gabriel focuses on moving the ball off the seam and getting it to bounce. He’s also great in the field and saves plenty of runs in the ring.

He represents a new group of Japanese players who have had much better coaching and facilities than those who came before them.

3. Alfred Daniel (Tanzania) – 16 years

Tanzania made history by making it to their first-ever World Cup. Sixteen-year-old Alfred Daniel is a big reason they got there. He was born in 2009 and is a top-order batter. He holds the innings together while the more aggressive players take risks at the other end. People online questioned his age, but official ICC records show he really is that young.

Daniel has a solid technique that works well on the bouncy pitches in Zimbabwe. His ability to let the dangerous balls go and wait for a mistake makes him a huge part of the team. 

2. Sandev Waduge (Japan) – 15 years

Japan’s team has a few sixteen-year-olds. Still, Sandev Waduge is the youngest of the bunch at fifteen. He was born in March 2010. This right-handed batter and left-arm medium-pacer plays for the Kawasaki Knight Riders back home. Even though he’s lean, he gets the ball to zip off the pitch.

He keeps batters guessing with his movement. He stabilises the middle order and uses his accurate bowling to break big stands. Waduge has gained valuable experience during the East Asia-Pacific qualifiers. There, he stayed calm in a way you wouldn’t expect from a fifteen-year-old. Sandev’s growth in this tournament sets the tone for Japan’s cricket for the next ten years.

1. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (India) – 14 years

At just fourteen years old, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is clearly the youngest player in the U19 World Cup 2026. The opener from Bihar made a huge splash in 2024. He played in the Ranji Trophy at around 12 years of age. That move really surprised everyone watching domestic cricket. He has kept moving up fast and hit a massive century against Australia U19 in a Youth Test.

He reached a hundred in just 58 balls during that match. Selectors saw he has a special knack for attacking fast bowlers early on. He has shown this again by hitting a fifty against Bangladesh in the group stage of the U19 World Cup 2026.

Sooryavanshi relies on great hand-eye coordination instead of just swinging hard. He finds gaps with ease. He proves that age doesn’t matter when you’re this good.

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.