Uday Saharan: Composure is his middle name, meet Indian cricket team’s Mr Anchor!

Uday Saharan, who captained the Indian cricket team in the ICC U19 World Cup 2024 in South Africa, has been touted as the future star of the game. Justifiably so.

The youngster demonstrated exceptional leadership skills by taking his team to the final of the 50-over under-19 cricket World Cup. Saharan also emerged as the tournament's leading run-scorer.

Uday Saharan scored 397 runs at an average of 56.71 from the seven matches India played at the World Cup. Among Indians, only Shikhar Dhawan (505 in the 2004 edition) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (400 runs in 2020) have scored more runs than Saharan in a single edition.

While Saharan does not come across as flamboyant as Jaiswal, who used the U19 World Cup to launch himself at the senior level, Saharan’s approach of taking the game deep, akin to any top-order long-format batsman, proved no less effective in South Africa.

In the semi-final against South Africa, the Indian captain came to bat out with his side reeling at 8 for two wickets, chasing 245. Saharan kept his composure even as wickets tumbled at the other end with India further reduced to 32/4.

Saharan remained at the crease until the end, scoring a crucial 81 runs. He was run out while going for the winning single but India eventually secured the victory by two wickets.

"This World Cup, many people are already calling him the find of the World Cup; he is the first captain to be the highest run-getter of the team,” Ravichandran Ashwin, one of India’s all-time leading off-spinners, lauded Saharan on his social media channel.

“It is not about the runs; it is about the match-winning ability of Uday Saharan that impresses me, it is the composure with which he plays. It cannot be bought with money," Ashwin added.

Although India lost the final against Australia, the Men in Blue has perhaps discovered a gem in Uday Saharan. More than half of India's runs at the World Cup came from Saharan’s bat. He struck three fifties and a century against Nepal in the World Cup.

The India U19 captain also earned a spot in ICC’s Team of the Tournament alongside fellow Indians Musheer Khan, Sachin Dhas and Saumy Pandey.

Where is Uday Saharan from

Born on September 8, 2004, in Sri Ganganagar, Rajasthan, Saharan's cricketing journey began under the guidance of his father, Sanjeev Saharan, an Ayurveda practitioner and a BCCI-accredited coach.

Recognising Uday’s potential at a young age, the family shifted his training base to Bhatinda in Punjab when Uday was 12. The move paid off for Uday, who excelled in the Punjab’s U14 and U16 levels and also captained the junior teams.

"My father always taught me from the beginning to take the game deep, as deep as possible," Uday Saharan said during an interview with broadcasters Star Sports ahead of the U19 World Cup final.

"Of course, I want to go out there and play big shots because that's what people like to watch today. But deep inside, I want my team to win. So if my game needs to be different where I need to play a secondary role, I'm more than happy to," Saharan added.

Uday Saharan’s U19 career

Saharan’s performances with the U14 and U16 teams paved the way for his selection at the U19 level as well.

In November 2023, Saharan, representing India D in the U19 One Day Challenger Trophy in Guwahati, scored 293 runs from four matches at a strike rate of over 82 and a half-century in each of his four innings. His consistency helped him get selected for the Indian U19 cricket team.

Saharan was named the captain of the Indian cricket team for the U19 Asia Cup in Dubai where it lost to eventual champions Bangladesh in the semi-finals. However, the following tri-series against the hosts South Africa and Afghanistan in December-January saw the Indian team win all of their matches, with Saharan scoring a century in the final match of the series against South Africa.

The Indian team did not look back from that point, winning every match on its way before losing to Australia in the World Cup final.

Despite the loss there, Saharan said he was proud of how the Indian team played throughout the tournament and there’s a lot to gain from the competition.

“The entire team, from the start to the end, showed fighting spirit. They played very well and I am proud of them," Uday Saharan said at the end of the World Cup.

On a personal level, Saharan said that the loss, though bitter, provided a lot of lessons that will help him move forward.

"There have been a lot of learnings, right from the start to now," he said. "I have learnt a lot from the staff and even during the match, have learnt so much. I just want to take all the learnings from this tournament and move forward in my career."

By the time the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics arrive, when cricket will return to the Olympic fold in the T20 format, Uday Saharan will be 23. And given the reputation he has acquired, Saharan will be a strong contender for a spot in Team India.