India’s Uday Saharan will captain the U-19 World Cup team

India will be led by Uday Saharan of Punjab at the South African 2024 Under-19 World Cup. The U-19 Asia Cup team from India, which is now in Dubai, has been kept for the international competition, which takes place from January 19 to February 11. From December 29 to January 10, a tri-series in South Africa that also includes England will be captained by the 19-year-old Saharan. His deputy will be Saumy Kumar Pandey of Madhya Pradesh.

The BCCI released a statement saying, “The India U-19 team will begin preparations for the much-anticipated U-19 World Cup post-tri-series.”

Middle-order hitter Saharan was born in Rajasthan but moved to Punjab when he was fourteen years old. He played for Punjab in the U-19, U-16, and U-14 levels. With an average of 99 runs per game over four matches for the winning India B, he amassed 297 runs in November, making him the top run scorer in the U-19 Challenger Trophy. When COVID-19 impacted the Indian team for the 2022 U-19 World Cup, he was one of the five backup players sent to the Caribbean.

For obvious reasons, Captain Sahara has been appointed. Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the coach of the India U-19 team, who was also in charge when India won the previous edition, praised him for his man-management skills and ability to make wise judgments.

Sarfaraz Khan’s younger brother Musheer Khan from Mumbai is also included in the team. In the last match of a quadrangular U-19 series that also included England and Bangladesh, last month, Musheer, an aggressive right-handed batsman who bowls left-arm spin, struck an undefeated 127 off 47 deliveries for India A against India B. In 10 overs, he claimed 2/53 as well. The eighteen-year-old has previously represented Mumbai’s senior squad in three first-class matches.

Arshin Kulkarni of Maharashtra is another talent to keep an eye on. He is doing really well with bat and ball in the current U-19 Asia Cup. With 137 runs in three games and four wickets taken, he is the tournament’s top run scorer. He may prove to be a useful asset to Indian cricket in the future as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

India, the most successful team in the tournament and five-time champions of the U-19 World Cup will be fierce competitors to win it all again. On January 20, they started their campaign against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein.