Lakshya Raichandani will captain India at the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup, happening in Muscat, Oman, from November 5 to 14. The BCCI’s Junior Cricket Committee, led by newly-appointed Parvinder Awana, named the 15-member squad on Friday, with Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan as vice-captain.
The squad includes Aaryavir Sehwag, son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, and wicketkeeper Anvay Dravid, son of former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid. Rajat Baghel is the second wicketkeeper in the side.
Anvay is coming off making 358 runs in five innings for Karnataka in the recently concluded Vinoo Mankad Trophy, including hitting a fifty and two centuries. In the same competition, Aaryavir hit a stroke-filled 143-ball 173 for Delhi against Chandigarh. Ishan Sood is coming off picking 13 scalps in eight matches at an average of 23.
India are in Group A alongside defending champions Pakistan, Nepal and the UAE. Group B has Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and Malaysia. The top two sides from each group will qualify for the semi-finals on November 12, and the final will be played on Saturday, November 14.
India will open their campaign against Nepal at OCC Turf 1 on November 6. They will play against Pakistan at the same venue on November 8 and finish the group stage against the UAE at OCC Turf 2 on November 10.
India are coming off winning the ODI series (3-0) and the Test series (2-0) over Australia in Rajkot and Ahmedabad held last month. India are the most successful team in the Under-19 Men’s Asia Cup – having won the title eight times. In last year’s edition, India finished runners-up to Pakistan after losing the final by 191 runs.
India U19 squad: Lakshya Raichandani (captain), Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (vice-captain), Aaryavir Sehwag, V.K. Vineeth, Kushagra Ojha, Arjun Rajput, Manal Chauhan, Anvay Dravid (wicketkeeper), Rajat Baghel (wicketkeeper), V. Yashveer, Aryan Savsani, Mohit Ulva, Kavya Patel, Shavin Vinod, Ishan Sood.
