BCCI announces the India squad for the Under-19 World Cup 2016

The BCCI has announced the India squad for the Under-19 World Cup 2016 to be held in Bangladesh from 22 January to 14 February. It will be the competition’s eleventh edition and the second to be held in Bangladesh, after the 2004 event. The World Cup will be contested by 16 national Under-19 teams.

The Indian U-19 team, which has been in superb form recently, enters the tournament as one of the favorites to lift the cup. The team yesterday won the tri-nation Under-19s tournament in Sri Lanka as well as the tri-series prior to this that was held in India. Jharkhand’s Ishan Kishan will lead a strong team being coached by former India skipper Rahul Dravid.

Hosts Bangladesh will take on defending champions South Africa in the opening game of the Under-19 World Cup in Chittagong on January 27 next year. The match is one of 20 games that will be broadcast live, compared to 11 matches telecast during the 2014 competition in the UAE. The tournament final will be played in Dhaka on February 14.

India is placed in a tough group featuring Australia, New Zealand and Nepal. A tough opening game against the Aussies will kick off India’s campaign on 28th January followed by a match against the Kiwis on 30th. India’s last match in the group will be against Nepal on 1st February. Top two teams from the group will qualify for the Quarter-Final hence India will need to be on their toes from game one of the competition.

India squad for the U-19 World Cup:

Ishan Kishan (C), Rishabh Pant (VC), Washington Sundar, Sarfaraz Khan, Amandeep Khare, Anmolpreet Singh, Arman Jaffer, Ricky Bhui, Mayank Dagar, Zeeshan Ansari, Mahipal Lomror, Avesh Khan, Shubham Mavi, Khaleel Ahmed, Rahul Batham

5 Indian players to watch out for in the U19 World Cup 2016