India squad for the Under-19 World Cup announced

With the clock ticking away and the Under-19 World Cup closing in, BCCI has officially announced the India squad that will travel to New Zealand. The Blackcaps will be playing hosts to the 2018 Under-19 World Cup and defending champions West Indies will be eager to put up a good show and defend their title.

Indian under-19 side, led by Ishan Kishan, stumbled in the final last time around by fine margins. It was this edition which brought some wonderful talents into the limelight like Washington Sundar, Sarfraz Khan, and of course, Rishabh Pant, who already made his International debut in the shortest format.

India has won the Under-19 World Cup three times previously, the joint-best tally for any team alongside Australia. Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, and Unmukht Chand were the leaders of the Indian side that lifted this coveted trophy in 2000, 2008, and 2012 respectively. A new challenge awaits as the New Zealand conditions will only make life difficult and to win a fourth title seems a little difficult, but not impossible.

Prithvi Shaw to lead the Indian side

Originally, Prithvi Shaw was the skipper of this Indian contingent. But Mumbai’s Ranji side needed his services badly and he was made to play the Ranji Trophy matches. This led to him missing out on the ACC Under-19 Asia Cup, where India suffered a humiliating defeat to Nepal in the group stages.

Neither of the Indian players managed to appear on the lists of top five highest wicket-takers or highest run-scorers in the tournament and interim skipper Himanshu Rana had a forgettable outing. They should keep all those things aside now as the biggest challenge of their career awaits them.

Shubham Gill has been named as Shaw’s deputy and some incredibly talented players Abhishek Sharma, Manjot Kalra, and Riyan Parag will be looking to make the most of this golden opportunity they are getting.

Squad: Prithvi Shaw (C), Shubman Gill (VC), Manjot Kalra, Himanshu Rana, Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Aryan Juyal (WK), Harvik Desai (WK), Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Ishan Porel, Arshdeep Singh, Anukul Roy, Shiva Singh, Pankaj Yadav