U19 Cricket World Cup
On January 15, Zimbabwe and Namibia will kick-off the 16th U19 Cricket World Cup with matches taking place across Queens Sports Club, Harare Sports Club and Takashinga in Bulawayo; Namibia Cricket Ground/HP Oval in Windhoek respectively.
India are the current champions, having claimed victory at the last tournament held in 2024, while Australia, Sri Lanka and Pakistan are past champions as well.
| No. | India U19 Player | Role | England U19 Player | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ayush Mhatre (C) | Batter | Thomas Rew (C) | Wicket Keeper |
| 2 | Vaibhav Sooryavanshi | Batter | Farhan Ahmed | Bowler |
| 3 | Vedant Trivedi | Batter | Ralphie Albert | All-Rounder |
| 4 | Aaron George | All-Rounder | Will Bennison | Batter |
| 5 | Kanishk Chouhan | All-Rounder | Ben Dawkins | Batter |
| 6 | Khilan A. Patel | All-Rounder | Caleb Falconer | Batter |
| 7 | Mohamed Enaan | All-Rounder | Ali Farooq | Bowler |
| 8 | Vihaan Malhotra | All-Rounder | Alex French | Bowler |
| 9 | Abhigyan Kundu | Wicket Keeper | Alex Green | Bowler |
| 10 | Harvansh Singh | Wicket Keeper | Luke Hands | Bowler |
| 11 | D. Deepesh | Bowler | Manny Lumsden | Bowler |
| 12 | Henil Patel | Bowler | Ben Mayes | Wicket Keeper |
| 13 | Kishan Kumar Singh | Bowler | James Minto | All-Rounder |
| 14 | R.S. Ambrish | Bowler | Joe Moores | Batter |
| 15 | Udhav Mohan | Bowler | Sebastian Morgan | All-Rounder |
India
The 2022 Under-19 Cricket World Cup marked its fourteenth edition and first to take place in the West Indies. Aimed at players aged 19 years or under representing top national teams from around the globe, this competition featured players aged 19 or under who competed as representatives for their countries of origin.
India was dominant throughout, showcasing their depth in batting and potency with bowling to eventually defeat England in the final match at North Sound, Antigua to claim six titles – an unbroken streak!
Yash Dhull became only the fifth Indian captain in history to win this tournament after Mohammad Kaif, Virat Kohli, Unmukt Chand and Prithvi Shaw had done so previously. Dewald Brevis from South Africa was honored as Player of the Series while Dunith Wellalage from Sri Lanka took most wickets with 17.
The International Cricket Council U19 World Cup is an biennial tournament held across one or more of its member nations. Played on a four-team group stage format, with only the top two teams advancing to a Super League pool for further competition; those at the bottom compete against one another in a knockout Plate League for ranking points and advancement to the final.
Not only do the world’s top eight teams qualify, but associate and non-test playing nations as well. Nepal and Namibia both qualified for this year’s Super League/Quarter Finals for the first time.
India was widely expected to win this tournament, yet they struggled in their opening match against Bangladesh and lost by seven wickets. From then on they performed impressively in all their group stage matches until reaching the semi-finals where they defeated Australia and Zimbabwe before meeting England for a semi-final spot.
India won both of its semi-final matches to advance to the final against England, where they managed to put behind them any weaknesses and dominate from start to finish. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi made an especially noteworthy showing, scoring an outstanding 55-ball century which broke multiple records en route to a crushing win for India.
England
ICC Under 19 Cricket World Cup first took place in 1988 and has been held every two years since then. The competition features four-team groups for an initial group stage before moving onto knockout Super League competition involving 16 teams; top two from each group qualify for semi-finals while bottom two compete in ranking matches to determine their finishing positions. 2022 marks its return as host country!
India achieved victory through an all-around batting and bowling performance, demonstrating depth in batting and effective attack throughout the tournament. India was especially dominant against England during their final matchup; Vaibhav Sooryavanshi scored 175 against them with an outstanding innings that broke several U19 world records in just 55 minutes of play!
England responded quickly, however, and captain Thomas Rew struck an impressive century off 139 balls while Ben Mayes made 34 from 49 deliveries for England in a close contest finish that ultimately saw them reach their target with 25.5 overs to spare. Rew was named player of the match and expressed satisfaction at his side’s overall performance.
England played South Africa in their semi-final and won an emphatic one-sided match, progressing to their maiden Under 19 World Cup final. On Friday (07:30 GMT), they will face either Pakistan or Afghanistan for this honour and live ball by ball commentary of all finals matches will be provided via BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sport website/app.
Viran Chamuditha recently made headlines when he broke Sri Lanka’s youth score record with 575 runs scored during a youth match, while England captain Thomas Rew proved his worth as the leading young batsman with 441 runs scored during this tournament. With its schedule released, cricket fans can look forward to some thrilling matches during January and February; each team will play two warm-up matches before starting official play on January 9 – click here for full schedule details! Each team must name 15-player squads before submission for approval from ICC Technical Committee before any changes can take effect during these tournaments.
Australia
In 1988, seven Test-playing nations participated in its inaugural tournament; Australia defeated Pakistan by five wickets to become its inaugural champions. Due to financial issues caused by World Series Cricket being put on hiatus between 1988-1998, its reinvention occurred with 16-team tournaments being staged every two years as opposed to annual ones; and has remained this way ever since.
India has been the clear winner in this tournament over its last six editions, winning five out of six and breaking records against England in 2024. Australia came second, taking home four titles; notable other winners included Pakistan, South Africa and England.
One of the great aspects of the U19 World Cup is giving young cricketers an opportunity to showcase their skills before an international audience. Many who have participated have become known throughout cricket – many even making international cricket teams!
There is plenty to watch out for this year at the tournament, with an array of talented youngster vying to take their place at the tournament. One intriguing player to keep an eye out for is Sri Lanka all-rounder Yashasvi Jaiswal who can dominate both batting and bowling – he recently scored a century at Under-19 Asia Cup, making him an excellent prospect for Sri Lanka’s future.
Pakistan’s Ali Raza stands out as an intriguing bowler with the potential to be an absolute match-winner. His height and pace set him apart in a field full of fast bowlers; his performance in last year’s PSL was outstanding. Additionally, he destabilized India’s chase in the U-19 Asia Cup final by bowling four wicketless overs!
The 2019 U19 World Cup will take place across Zimbabwe and Namibia, with most games held at Windhoek’s High Performance Oval as a central hub. Bulawayo Queens Sports Club will act as a single venue, while Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Sports Club in Windhoek will host matches. India and South Africa will compete for supremacy from January until February in this tournament that runs from January 8 through February 8.
Pakistan
The 2026 ICC Under-19 World Cup will take place from January 15 to February 6 in Zimbabwe and Namibia, featuring 16 teams. The top three in each group advance to the Super six stage; four bottom-placed teams then participate in a Plate competition against each other; the winners advance into semi-finals and finally the final takes place on February 6.
India was an unstoppable force at the 2010 Under-19 World Cup held in New Zealand, winning all their matches and emerging as top seed.
They became the first team ever to achieve that feat at any youth World Cup; winning all their group matches comfortably before going on to beat Pakistan in their semifinal match, scoring 419 runs with 14 balls left over before eventually dismissing them in just 17 overs for just 216 in total – giving India its inaugural Under-19 title win! Unmukt Chand and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being honored with awards of Man of Match and Player of Tournament respectively by Unmukt Chand and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi being recognized.
However, in the last four editions of this tournament only two non-test playing nations – Afghanistan in 2014 and Nepal in 2016 – managed to advance past the quarter finals – Afghanistan was first and Nepal reached their first final since Bangladesh back in 2008.
The 2026 U19 Cricket World Cup will showcase 16 of the world’s premier U19 cricket teams. Before the main event begins on January 9, these 16 teams will participate in warm-up matches before heading to Zimbabwe and Namibia to compete at their respective host venues. The tournament will be broadcast across multiple nations around the globe.
Tickets are now on sale, with details regarding every venue available on the ICC’s website. Fans can also follow live scores, match updates, and the latest news throughout the U19 Cricket World Cup via social media.
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