Noor Ahmed has become the latest player to make his men’s World Cup debut before his 20th birthday – here are six others who made an impact as teenagers in men’s World Cups.
Noor defeated Pakistan by 3-49 and sacked both Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan, leaving Afghanistan in a strong position. The 18-year-old is his 18th youngest player to play in the Men’s World Cup after his teammate Mujeeb Ur Rahman, and he is his second to score a 3-pointer in this tournament. He is an 18 year old player.
He is the latest in a line of teenagers who have given eye-catching performances in the contest.
Sachin Tendulkar
Normally, Tendulkar has some memorable performances from the 1992 World Cup when he was just 18 years old. He scored 81 points against Zimbabwe in Hamilton and won the Player of the Match award. He also scored 82 against New Zealand in Dunedin, anchoring the innings while falling down. However, his most outstanding performance was against Pakistan in Sydney. Entering the match at 101 for 3 in 28 overs, he scored an unbeaten 54 to guide India to Pakistan’s 217. Unfortunately, Tendulkar was once again the Man of the Match.
Shakib Al Hasan
Shakib turned 20 during the 2007 World Cup but managed to play four matches before his birthday. In one of the biggest upsets of the World Cup, Bangladesh defeated India in Port of Spain, eliminating the country from the tournament. On this day, Bangladesh fielded three teenagers – Shakib, Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim. All three scored half-centuries and Mushfiqur’s unbeaten run of 56 matches drew praise. But Shakib’s 56 runs and his 10 overs bowled for just 44 runs also left a huge impression.
Mujeeb Ur Rahman
Mujeeb made his World Cup debut in the 2019 tournament just a month after his 18th birthday. At this point, he already had over a year of international experience and over 50 ODI wickets. His most eye-catching performance of the tournament came against Bangladesh at Southampton. He took three wickets and scored 39 runs in 10 overs, dismissing Litton Das, Shakib and Sowmya Sarkar. Bangladesh ended up with 262 for 7, a huge lead over Afghanistan.
Shaheen Shah Afridi
Another teenager from the 2019 edition, Shaheen Shah Afridi, made a huge impression during the tournament and finished within the top 10 wicket-takers. He took three wickets against New Zealand and four against Afghanistan, but his six against Bangladesh was outstanding. This made him the youngest player to score his quintuple in the Men’s ODI World Cup and his score of 6 minutes 35 seconds was also the highest recorded by Pakistan in the tournament. This was a disappointing victory for Pakistan, who won the match but were eliminated.
Ikram Alikhil
Ikram Alikil returned to the Afghanistan team in this tournament and first made a name for himself in 2019. He scored an astonishing 86 points and came close to becoming the first teenager to score the first goal in a Men’s World Cup in 100 years, but he was then beaten by Chris Gayle more than anyone else. I was forced to my knees. He shared a 133-run partnership with Rahmat Shah, but a tough counterattack was not enough to get Afghanistan across the goal line. We lost by 23 points.
Mushfiqur Rahim
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