India U-19 squad announced for the triangular series in Sri Lanka

Right-hand middle-order batsman Himanshu Rana and Yogesh Sharma have been included in the 18-man India U-19 squad for the triangular series against Sri Lanka U-19 and England U-19 which will be taking place in Colombo from December 2 to December 21.

Rana made his first-class debut for Haryana in the last season of Ranji Trophy at the age of 16. He ended the season with a maiden first-class century against Rajasthan and started the 2015-16 seasons with a knock of 157 against Maharashtra. He currently averages 44 in eight Ranji Trophy games. But, Rana failed to impress in the U-19 Challenger Trophy and was therefore not considered for the tri-series against Bangladesh and Afghanistan. Yogesh had taken three wickets for India Blue at 37.66 in that Challenger Trophy and was ignored for the earlier tournaments.

Apart from that, Pradipta Pramanik, Shubham Nayak and Izhaan Sayed were the three players to be dropped out from the team which won the recently concluded tri-series against Bangladesh U-19 and Afghanistan U-19. The batting of the U-19 team revolves around skipper Ricky Bhui, Rishabh Pant, who headed the batting charts in the last series with 377 runs, Washington Sundar and Sarfaraz Khan. The bowling unit is headed by Avesh Khan, who showcased his wicket-taking abilities in the recent wins, Rahul Batham and Zeeshan Ansari.

Co-incidentally, Bhui, Sarfaraz and Avesh were a part of the Indian team that finished fifth in the 2014 U-19 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.

The tour of Sri Lanka will be the second international assignment for the team building up to the U-19 World Cup 2016, which gets underway in Bangladesh on January 22. Earlier, Sri Lanka had announced their squad for the series. Charith Asalanka has been named as the captain and Sammu Ashan will be his deputy.

Squads

India: Ricky Bhui (captain), Rishabh Pant, Virat Singh, Sarfaraz Khan, Amandeep Khare, Ishan Kishan, Anmolpreet Singh, Washington Sundar, Himanshu Rana, Avesh Khan, Rahul Batham, Zeeshan Ansari, Yogesh Sharma, Kanishk Seth, Mayank Dagar, Mahipal Lomror, Syed Khaleel Ahmed, Shubham Mavi.

Sri Lanka: Charith Asalanka (captain), Sammu Ashan, Kaveen Bandara, Salindu Ushan, Avishka Fernando, Wanidu Hasaranga, Malinga Amarasinghe, Vishard Randika, Lahiru Samarakoon, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Jehan Daniel, Damitha Silva, Thilan Nimesh, Lakshan Fernando, Dilshan Sandaruwan, Ravin Sayer, Lakshina Rodrigo, Kamindu Mendis, Sanogeeth Shanmuganathan.