Four-time champions India, on Monday, declared a 15-member squad for the U-19 World Cup 2020. The 13th edition of the quadrennial tournament will be held in South Africa between January 17 and February 9.
Uttar Pradesh batsman Priyam Garg has been selected as the captain. The 15-member squad will head to South Africa soon for the upcoming matches. Dhruv Chand Jurel has been named the vice-captain. He will also handle the wicketkeeping responsibilities. Kumal Kushagra has been named as a reserve wicketkeeper in the squad.
India will be seen alongside Japan, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka in Group A. 16 teams, who will participate in the tournament, have been drawn in groups of 4.
Mumbai’s Yashasvi Jaiswal along with Divyansh Saxena, Uttarakhand’s Shashwat Rawat and Hyderabad’s Tilak Varma are prominent batsmen in the India squad.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was in good form for Mumbai in the 50-over domestic tournament. Yashasvi hit 203 off 154 balls with 12 sixes and 17 boundaries for Mumbai in October, thereby becoming the youngest batsman to hit a double hundred in List A cricket.
India will defend their U-19 World Cup title. In 2018, India, led by Prithvi Shaw and coached by then U-19 coach Rahul Dravid, clinched glory by beating Australia in the final in New Zealand. Speaking about India’s chances in the upcoming U-19 World Cup, Rahul Dravid said the “good balance” in the team makes it one of the favorites.
Rahul Dravid on India’s Chances In The U-19 World-Cup 2020:
“We have got a good balance in the team “We probably had more all-rounders in last year’s team. But in terms of balance, the selectors have done a fine job in picking a good side,” Rahul Dravid told Sportstar last week.
Talking about the bowling attack in the U-19 set-up, Dravid added: “So, if the conditions in South Africa aid the fast bowlers, we will have a pretty good attack. We have got batting down to seven, eight, nine. We have got spinners. We had enough competition for places, so that was nice to see.”
India U-19 probables, a squad of 22 players, had begun preparations for the U-19 World Cup with a 5-match one-day series against Afghanistan U-19 at home between November 22 and 30.
India squad for U-19 World Cup 2020: Priyam Garg (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Divyaansh Saxena, Dhruv Chand Jurel (vice-captain and wk), Shashwat Rawat, Divyansh Joshi, Shubhang Hegde, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Sushant Mishra, Vidyadhar Patil.