The 15th edition of the Under-19 World Cup is scheduled to commence today (January 19) in South Africa. India has been placed in Group A alongside Bangladesh, Ireland, and the United States of America.
India will open their campaign against Bangladesh on Saturday, followed by a match against Ireland on January 25 and the final group stage game against the USA on January 28.
On the opening day, two matches are set to be played starting at 1:30 PM IST. The hosts South Africa will face the West Indies, and in the second match, Ireland will play against the US.
With a total of 16 participating teams divided into four groups, there will be 41 matches culminating in the final in February.
Group B features England, South Africa, West Indies, and Scotland. Group C consists of Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, while Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Nepal make up Group D.
Defending champions India, led by Uday Saharan, have won the title five times, securing victory in the last championship by defeating England by four wickets. Australia has won three times, Pakistan twice, and England, Bangladesh, West Indies, and the 2024 hosts South Africa have each been crowned once.
Batter Uday Saharan will lead the ‘Men in Blue,’ and all-rounder Arshin Kulkarni is a player to watch in this Under-19 World Cup.
Musheer Khan, a middle-order batsman who bowls left-arm spin, is the only player in the 15-man squad with first-class experience. In a quadrangular U-19 series match in November, Musheer scored 127 runs off 47 balls and took two wickets. He also finished third in the Under-19 Challenger Trophy with 268 runs at a strike rate of 108.
Indian squad: Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (C), Aravelly Avanish Rao (WK), Saumy Kumar Pandey (VC), Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan (WK), Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani, and Naman Tiwari.