Pakistan had made 222 for seven, and the Indian captain had already imposed himself on the match with the ball.
India were chasing their first Under-19 World Cup title, with Mohammad Kaif as captain and the boy from Lord’s now serving as his deputy.
At the 1998 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, Sodhi struck 126 from 150 balls against Kenya, including eight fours and five sixes.
He had captained India to one global age-group title, helped secure another, played in two Under-19 World Cups and become the youngest Indian first-class double-centurion.
His senior India debut followed in December 2000 against Zimbabwe at Cuttack, less than a year after the Under-19 World Cup triumph.
Lord’s has a way of making even accomplished cricketers conscious of history. In August 1996, however, the old ground seemed to exert no such intimidation over the 15-year-old leading India in the final of the Lombard Under-15 Challenge Cup. Pakistan had made 222 for seven, and the Indian captain had already imposed himself on the match with the ball. The more exacting examination was still to come. A global title now depended on a chase, and the teenager entrusted with leading it appeared entirely untroubled by either the setting or the occasion. The Indian U19 team that won the trophy in 2000. (X Images)
He remained unbeaten on 82 as India reached their target with four wickets in hand. Earlier, his 3 for 34 had accounted for Taufeeq Umar, Yasir Arafat and Kamran Akmal in a Pakistan side containing several players who would later become senior internationals, among them Shoaib Malik, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal and Bazid Khan. By the close of the afternoon, a 15-year-old had captained India to a global age-group title at Lord’s, decided the final with both bat and ball, and been named Player of the Match. It was less an introduction than an announcement.
Four years later, another final arrived, this time in Colombo. India were chasing their first Under-19 World Cup title, with Mohammad Kaif as captain and the boy from Lord’s now serving as his deputy. Sri Lanka had been restricted to 178, yet the chase was still vulnerable at 116 for four. Once again, the decisive innings belonged to the same cricketer. He made an unbeaten 39 from 43 balls after conceding only 26 from his ten overs, and India crossed the line without further damage. Once again, he was Player of the Match in a major final.
The name was Reetinder Singh Sodhi. Before his senior international career receded into the statistical anonymity of 18 One-Day Internationals, he had assembled one of the most remarkable junior résumés in Indian cricket. For a brief period at the end of the 1990s, Sodhi appeared not merely gifted but almost preordained for a substantial international career.
A prodigy before India knew what to do with him Between those two finals came an achievement that remains extraordinary even now. In November 1997, playing for Punjab against Delhi in the Ranji Trophy at Patiala, Sodhi made an unbeaten 200. He was 17 years and 15 days old when the match began, making him the youngest Indian to score a first-class double-century. In the standard historical lists, only Pakistan’s Hasan Raza and Ijaz Ahmed reached the landmark at a younger age.
There were further signs that Lord’s had not been an isolated eruption of youthful brilliance. At the 1998 Under-19 World Cup in South Africa, Sodhi struck 126 from 150 balls against Kenya, including eight fours and five sixes. That Indian squad included Virender Sehwag, Harbhajan Singh and Mohammad Kaif, players whose names would soon become inseparable from a transformative period in Indian cricket. Sodhi, however, had already been carrying the aura of precocity for years.
By the beginning of 2000, the progression seemed almost unnervingly neat. He had captained India to one global age-group title, helped secure another, played in two Under-19 World Cups and become the youngest Indian first-class double-centurion. His senior India debut followed in December 2000 against Zimbabwe at Cuttack, less than a year after the Under-19 World Cup triumph.
