Picture Credit: Twitter
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced four-time champions India's 17-member squad for the Under-19 World Cup set to be played in West Indies from January 14, 2022 to February 5, 2022, across four countries. The competition is the 14th edition of the marquee event and will see as many as 16 sides competing for the trophy in 48 matches.
The Men in Blue happen to be the most successful team in the history of the competition, having lifted titles in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018. In addition, the team has also finished as runners-up in 2016 and also in the last edition of the tournament in 2020 which happened in New Zealand.
Yash Dhull of the Delhi District Cricket Association has been named as the captain of the side with SK Rasheed of Andhra Cricket Association announced as his deputy. Dinesh Bana and Aaradhya Yadav are the two designated wicketkeepers in the Indian contingent.
Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw are the other India captains to have won the U-19 World Cup and the cricket-crazy country will want a repeat of the same from the Yash Dhull-led side. As many as five players have been named as backup players keeping in mind the COVID-19 travel restrictions and quarantine requirements which will make it tough to send players from India, in case the need arises.
The format of the tournament will see the top two teams from each of the four groups proceed to the Super League with the remaining teams featuring in the Plate set to be played across 23 days in the tournament. India have been named in Group B of the competition.
India's squad for Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2022: Yash Dhull (captain), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, SK Rasheed (vice-captain), Nishant Sindhu, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dinesh Bana (wicketkeeper), Aaradhya Yadav (wicketkeeper), Raj Angad Bawa, Manav Parakh, Kaushal Tambe, RS Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, Vicky Ostwal, Ravikumar, Garv Sangwan
Standby players: Rishit Reddy, Uday Saharan, Ansh Gosai, Amrit Raj Upadhyay, PM Singh Rathore
India’s fixtures at ICC U-19 World Cup 2022:
January 15, 2022: India vs South Africa at Providence Stadium, Guyana- 7:30 pm (IST)
January 19, 2022: India vs Ireland at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago- 7:30 pm (IST)
January 22, 2022: India vs Uganda at Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad and Tobago- 7:30 pm (IST)