Vihaan Malhotra starred for India in their jail-break of a win over Bangladesh at the 2026 Under-19 World Cup on Saturday (January 17).
Predominantly a batter, he didn’t have a great first innings after India were asked to bat, managing just 7 (24), with his side getting bowled out for just 238. In the second innings, he turned game changer with the ball.
Bangladesh were cruising at 106/2 in the chase of a DLS-altered target of 165 when Malhotra took his first wicket, sending back Kalam Siddiki Aleen for 15. He went on to take three more wickets, leading a sensational collapse for the young tigers, ending the day with figures of 4/14 as India won by 18 runs.
Who is Vihaan Malhotra?
Malhotra is a 19-year-old left-handed batter from Patiala and the vice-captain of India’s
Under-19 team. He has featured in multi-format age-group tours of England and Australia, played the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE, and a 50-over triangular series at home over the past year.
Malhotra has batted in different roles in the top and middle order — he started as an opener but shifted down to make way for Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Ayush Mhatre — and captained India U-19 A in a triangular series against Afghanistan and India U-19 B in November, finishing as the top scorer with 182 runs in five innings.
Coached by Kamalpreet Sandhu at the Cricket Hub Academy in Patiala, Malhotra has credited Under-19 coaches Hrishikesh Kanitkar and VVS Laxman for his development, too.
He idolises Shubman Gill and Virat Kohli because they are ‘complete batters’.
“From a very young age, I understood that cricket isn’t just one format — each format demands something different. I’ve always believed that being technically strong in red-ball cricket lays the foundation to succeed in white-ball too. These days, with the IPL, there’s this perception that a couple of good knocks can earn you an India call-up. I don’t agree with that. It’s the grind that counts,” he told Hindustan Times in a recent interview.
Malhotra was one of the few under-19 players to be picked in the IPL 2026 auction even before the World Cup, with Royal Challengers Bengaluru signing him for his base price of ₹30 Lakh.
