The Board of Cricket Control of India has announced a 15 member squad for the upcoming U-19 Asia Cup slated to take place in Malaysia earlier today. India will start the campaign as the defending champion being won the third edition of the tournament which is scheduled to commence from November 9.
The tournament will see eight teams competing against each other with India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Bangladesh gaining an automatic selection. Nepal and Hong Kong have earned their places and the other two teams will be selected form the Western Qualifiers.
The junior selection has decided to leave to young batsman from Mumbai Prithvi Shaw, who captained the side in the recently concluded series in England was left out of the team to give him an extended run in the ongoing Ranji Trophy. “The selectors were of the opinion that 17-year-old Prithvi Shaw, who recently scored a century (154) in the Duleep Trophy final, should play in the ongoing Ranji Trophy,” said the BCCI in a statement,” BCCI said in a statement. According to a BCCI official, the decision to leave the star batsman was done in consultation with Rahul Dravid, who is the head coach of the side.
The Haryana born cricketer Himanshu Rana was chosen as the captain of the young side in the absence of Prithvi Shaw. He will be assisted by Abhishek Sharma who was selected as the vice-captain of the side. Rana also became the highest run-getter in India’s triumph in the Asia Cup last year.
The tournament which was scheduled to take place in Bengaluru earlier was shifted to Malaysia after Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) raised their disagreement owing to political turmoil between the two countries. PCB chairman Najam Sethi had earlier said, “The matter of shifting the tournament to Malaysia was amicably agreed by all participants in the development and executive committees since no one wanted it marred by security considerations of any member.”
India would love to defend their title under the watchful eyes of Rahul Dravid when they start their campaign and it will be a great opportunity for the young cricketers to showcase their talent and send a message to the senior team selectors.
The Squad: Himanshu Rana (Captain), Abhishek Sharma (vice-captain), Atharva Taide, Manjot Kalra, Salman Khan, Anuj Rawat, Harvik Desai, Riyan Parag, Anukul Roy, Shiva Singh, Tanush Kotian, Darshan Nalkande, Vivekanand Tiwary, Aditya Thakare, Mandeep Singh.