Under-19 World Cup 2024: India set to win 6th Title – Search for Future Stars begins

The 15th edition of the Under-19 World Cup tournament kickstarted in South Africa. The hosts open their campaign against the West Indies and Ireland taking on the USA. A total of 16 nations will be participating and playing 48 matches in 22 days.

Team India, the defending champions and the record 5-time champions, will open their campaign against Bangladesh on January 20. Following the Bangladesh match, India will compete with Ireland and the USA.

India’s captain Uday Saharan hopes the success in the U-19 tournament. He led India in the U19 Asia Cup in December 2023, where they were defeated by Bangladesh in the semi-finals.

The Team India’s squad is Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Uday Saharan (captain), Saumy Kumar Pandey, Aravelly Avanish Rao, Innesh Mahajan, Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shulka, Raj Limbani, and Naman Tiwari.

Earlier this week, a young cricketer named Prakhar Chaturvedi grabbed the attention by breaking the legendary Yuvraj Singh’s record i.e. scoring 404 runs against Mumbai in Cooch Behar Trophy final.

‘Records are meant to be broken’: Yuvraj Singh praises Prakhar Chaturvedi

The players Uday Saharan and Aravelly Avinash have already bagged IPL contracts. Chaturvedi missed the World Cup selection this year. U-19 World Cup is a showpiece event as head coach Rahul Dravid took great pains to point out during his 4-year stint.

“I am not a big fan of judging these boys based on results alone,” he told this writer not long into his tenure. “A few years down the road, few will remember whether someone was a part of the Under-19 World Cup-winning squad. They will only truly be recognised when they make the senior side and perform; that must be the ultimate goal, not just winning the Under-19 World Cup.”

The reason why India remains a dominant force at the junior level too is the quantum and quality of the players. There is so much organised cricket, much of it by BCCI itself.

Australian legend Greg Chappel said that India’s Uner-19 lads are almost finished products by the time they play for the country at that level because they have played so much so regularly compared to players in other countries, not least his own.

India’s schedule:

• January 20: India vs Bangladesh, Bloemfontein
• January 25: India vs Ireland, Bloemfontein
• January 28: India vs USA, Bloemfontein