The T20 World Cup in the West Indies and USA isn’t by any means the only ICC event that will be taking place this year, with the U-19 World Cup having already commenced in South Africa on Friday, 19 January.
Team India haven’t been winning too many ICC trophies at the senior level, having last won a major event all the way back in 2013, but are every bit a dominant team at the U-19 level, where they have won five World Cups and have reached seven of the last nine finals from 2006.
India enter the current tournament as the defending champions, having won their fifth title with a four-wicket victory over England in the West Indies in 2022. The ‘Colts in Blue’ are placed alongside Bangladesh, Ireland and USA in Group A, and begin their campaign against neighbours Bangladesh on Saturday.
Ahead of their opening fixture, we take a detailed look at the Indian squad:
Uday Saharan
Saharan be leading the Indian team in the 2024 edition, and will be hoping to join an elite club that comprises Mohammad Kaif (2000), Virat Kohli (2008), Unmukt Chand (2012), Prithvi Shaw (2018) and Yash Dhull (2022) — India’s five U-19 World Cup-winning captains. Saharan’s a top-order batter who also bowls right-arm off-spin.
India will be led by Uday Saharan at the 2024 U19 World Cup. Image: Uday Saharan Instagram
Though he hails from Rajasthan’s Sri Ganganagar, he represents Punjab in domestic cricket, having shifted his base to the border town of Fazilka — which incidentally happens to be the hometown of India opener Shubman Gill. He was named captain of the U-19 side after shining in the Challenger Trophy that took place in Guwahati last year.
Adarsh Singh
Adarsh Singh has cemented himself as the first-choice opener for the India U-19 team with his consistent run in recent outings, especially in the triangular series involving World Cup hosts South Africa and Afghanistan right before the mega event. Originally hailing from Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur, the left-handed opener, who happens to bowl off-spin, had led his state team at various age groups and has also represented Kanpur Superstars in the UP T20 League.
Aravelly Avanish
Hyderabad wicketkeeper-batter Avanish has made quite a name for himself as an explosive middle-order batter, and it is that reputation that helped him land a contract with the Chennai Super Kings in the recent Indian Premier League (IPL) auction that took place in Dubai in December. Avanish, who idolises legendary Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist, hails from the Pothugal village in Rajanna Sircilla district, Telangana, and made headlines with a knock of 183 against Chennai at age-level cricket. Along the way, Avanish led Hyderabad’s U-14 and U-19 cricket teams.
Sachin Dhas
Middle-order batter Dhas hails from Beed and had led Maharashtra at the Cooch Behar Trophy. Dhas, who also bowls off spin, has also represented Kolhapur Tuskers in the Maharashtra Premier League. More recently, he had struck a 42-ball 58 against Pakistan in the U-19 Asia Cup, his late charge helping the ‘Colts in Blue’ cross the 250-mark.
Innesh Mahajan
Since his selection for the U-19 Asia Cup as well as the World Cup, Mahajan has become something of a celebrity in the city of Noida where he currently resides with his family, according to The Times of India. Mahajan, who originally hails from Himachal Pradesh’s Kangra district and idolises both Alastair Cook and MS Dhoni, is a left-handed batter who is one of India’s top-order options for the World Cup besides being a back-up option for the wicketkeeper’s slot.
Priyanshu Moliya
Moliya is the only other member of the India squad for the U-19 World Cup to have played First-Class cricket besides Khan, having represented Baroda in the 2022-23 edition of Ranji Trophy. And he made an instant impact in the First-Class format by becoming only the second cricketer from Baroda to slam back-to-back tons on Ranji debut since Nari Contractor seven decades ago. Though primarily a middle-order batter, Moliya’s also quite handy with his off-spin.
Rudra Patel
The 18-year-old top-order batter from Gujarat, who is among the many who idolise current all-formats India captain Rohit Sharma, has been in roaring form of late. Not only did he finish the second-highest run-scorer in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy in October, where he collected 513 runs at an outstanding average of 102.60 with three centuries, he managed to carry that form over to the U-19 Quadrangular Series that comprised two Indian teams besides England and Bangladesh.
Though his team, India B, was beaten by the Uday Saharan-led India A in the final, Patel finished the leading run-scorer in the series by a fair distance, collecting 568 runs at an average of 113.60 that included a ton and five half-centuries.
Arshin Kulkarni
Young Arshin Kulkarni has already been making waves as the next Indian cricket star in the making and this is before he has even made his debut for India at the senior level or faced/bowled a delivery in the Indian Premier League. The Maharashtra all-rounder, who hails from Solapur, recently made his debut in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and had also appeared in the Maharashtra Premier League.
India’s Arshin Kulkarni in action during the opening game of the 2023 ACC U-19 Asia Cup against Afghanistan. Image credit: X/@BCCI
More recently, he was in sparkling form in the U-19 Asia Cup in the UAE, where he collected 138 runs at an average of 69. That included an unbeaten 70 in a match against Afghanistan in which he also collected three wickets for just 29 runs. His all-round heroics in the Asia Cup, combined with his sharp fielding skills, helped him land a deal with the Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL Auction.
Musheer Khan
The all-rounder, who happens to be Sarfaraz Khan’s younger brother, is considered by many as one of the up and coming stars in the Mumbai cricketing circuit. Musheer also happens to be one of only two members of the India squad for the 2024 T20 World Cup to have played First-Class cricket, having made his Ranji Trophy debut against Saurastra in 2022-23 and going on to make three appearances for Mumbai that season. Musheer, who bowls left-arm orthodox and bats at No 3, had led Mumbai to the final of the Cooch Behar Trophy last year, where he was named Player of the Tournament.
Murugan Abhishek
Another Hyderabadi making the U-19 World Cup squad alongside Aravelly Avanish, off-spinner Abhishek, who idolises Ravichandran Ashwin, has been enjoying a consistent run both in domestic age-group cricket as well as for the India U-19 team.
He had shown glimpses of his all-round ability with a century in the quarter-finals of the Vijay Merchant Trophy in the 2019-20 season, as well as in the Asia Cup semi-final against Bangladesh in December, top-scoring for his team with a knock of 62 on a day when the top-order batters struggled to get going against Maruf Mridha and the rest of the Bangladesh attack.
Dhanush Gowda
Young Karnataka pacer Gowda had represented India D in the Men’s U-19 One-Day Challenger Trophy in Guwahati as well as India B in the U-19 Quadrangular Trophy that also featured India A, England and Bangladesh. Gowda highlighted his skill in one of those games with a haul of 5/32 that helped the Indian team bowl Bangladesh out for 116 and later chase the target down with seven wickets to spare. Gowda did not get to play a game in the U-19 Asia Cup despite being named in the squad but featured in the subsequent Tri-Nation Tournament in South Africa that seved as a pre-cursor to the World Cup.
Raj Limbani
Right-arm seamer Limbani grabbed headlines and instantly became a talking point in cricketing circles across the country with his stunning haul of 7/13 that helped India bowl Nepal out for a paltry 52 in the U-19 Asia Cup in December and propel the ‘Colts in Blue’ into the semi-finals.
India U-19 seamer Raj Limbai celebrates the fall of a wicket during the ACC U-19 Asia Cup match against Nepal in Dubai. Image credit: X/@ACCMedia1
What was especially impressive about the haul was the fact that it came in a pressure situation, where India needed a win if they were to qualify for the knockouts. It was the kind of performance that might just ensure the 18-year-old seamer from Vadodara gets an extended run in the World Cup.
Saumy Pandey
Left-arm spinner Pandey hails from Madhya Pradesh and, according to The New Indian Express, had taken up cricket at an early age in order to fight various illness due to the fact that he had a premature birth. He would eventually get hooked to the sport, turning it into a career option by shining for his state at the U-16 level before graduating to U-19. Pandey had recently been named vice-captain of the India U-19 team for the Asia Cup. Though he went wicketless in that tournament, he came back firing in the subsequent Triangular Series in South Africa, where he would collect 6/29 in 10 overs against Afghanistan.
Aaradhya Shukla
The 19-year-old right-arm seamer from Ludhiana took up sport primarily to get a height boost, according to Hindustan Times, but has since taken up the sport professionally where he has risen through the ranks and finds himself on the verge of representing India at a World Cup, even if it is a youth event. Shukla, who had finished the leading wicket-taker in the Punjab Cricket Association U-23 State Championship in 2022. He enters the World Cup with some solid performances in recent outings, including a 4/43 against hosts South Africa in the recently-concluded Triangular Series.
Naman Tiwari
Tiwari will be leading the Indian attack in the U-19 World Cup in South Africa, and will hope to thrive in the pace-friendly conditions in the ‘Rainbow Nation’, where the Indian team had finished runners-up in the 2020 edition. Tiwari knows a thing or two about bowling to some of the world’s top batters, having been a net bowler with the Rajasthan Royals.
According to Cricketnext, Tiwari learned a great deal about the art of fast bowling while interacting with icons of the game such as Lasith Malinga and Trent Boult, knowledge that he appears to have put to good use in recent fixtures which includes a haul of 4/11 against Afghanistan in the recent triangular series.
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