The BCCI has declared that Uday Saharan will captain the Indian team in the Under 19 Men’s World Cup in South Africa early in 2019. Middle-order hitter Saharan, who represented Punjab in U14, U16, and U19 cricket and finished first in the U19 One-Day Challenger Trophy run-scoring category, is also the skipper of India for the current U19 Asia Cup in Dubai.
The 15-player team that is competing in the U19 Asia Cup is the same team that will play in the tri-series against England and the host nation, South Africa, in the run-up to the World Cup.
Aravelly Avanish Rao (WK), Saumy Kumar Pandey (VC), Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan (WK), Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani, and Naman Tiwari are the members of the India U19 squad. Adharsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, and Uday Saharan (C) are the squad members.
The board has again shown faith in the left-hander Adarsh Singh of Uttar Pradesh and the right-hander Arshin Kulkarni of Maharashtra, who have been India’s reliable opening combination in the three Asia Cup matches thus far. As of December 12, 2023, Kulkarni is one of the Asia Cup’s top three run scorers.
Rudra Mayur Patel of Gujarat bats at No. 3, while skipper Saharan bats two downs after recently scoring 60 against Pakistan, albeit in a losing cause.
Aravelly Avanish Rao, the Hyderabad-born left-hand batsman, and keeper, is most likely to start in the gloves, with Innesh Mahajan of Himachal Pradesh serving as his backup. One of the squad’s finishers is Maharashtra native Sachin Dhas.
Among the frontline bowlers in the team are offspinner Murugan Abhishek (Hyderabad), left-arm pacer Naman Tiwari (Uttar Pradesh), right-arm pacer Raj Limbani (Baroda), and left-arm spinner and vice-captain Saumy Kumar Pandey (Madhya Pradesh). As of December 12, 2023, Limbani is the Asia Cup’s leading wicket-taker.
Saharan, an offspinner, Kulkarni, a right-arm pacer, and Musheer Khan, a left-arm orthodox player from Mumbai and Sarfaraz Khan’s brother, can all contribute a few overs. The remaining players in the team are middle-order right-hand hitter Priyanshu Moliya (Baroda), right-arm pacer Dhanush Gowda (Karnataka), and right-arm pacer Aaradhya Shukla (Punjab).
For the tri-series, Prem Devkar, Ansh Gosai, and Md. Amaan have been selected as the official traveling standbys, while the BCCI has identified Digvijay Patil, Jayanth Goyat, P Vignesh, and Kiran Chormale as the backup players.
India’s U19 World Cup campaign begins on January 20, 2024, at Bloemfontein, against Bangladesh. The final of the tri-series that precedes it is set for January 10, 2024. It begins on December 29, 2023.