South Africa have included an Indian-origin player, Jonathan Vandiar, in their 15-member squad for the Under-19 cricket World Cup in Malaysia from February 17 to March 2.
Vandiar, who just completed his matriculation, comes from the working class suburb of Chatsworth in Durban, which is home to more than 500,000 people of Indian-origin.
Vandiar has impressed selectors with a string of big scores, including several hundreds.
The CEO of KwaZulu-Natal Cricket, Cassim Docrat said Vandiar has a great future ahead of him and it is now up to him to make a mark during the World Cup.
"Like Vandiar, we are seeing more and more young cricketers from the Indian community coming to the fore. We hope they carry on and sooner or later represent the country at national level like Hashim Amla," said Docrat.
Discussing the squad, the Cricket South Afrca CEO Gerald Majola said, "The boys know the importance of wearing green and gold. These colours are a source of inspiration and we are really inspired by them when they are just about to undertake this important journey in their endeavour to display their talents."
The squad: Wayne Parnell (captain), Jonathan Vandiar, Roy Adams, Matthew Arnold, Clayton August, Bradley Barnes, Daniel Childs, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Reeza Hendricks, Pieter Malan, Mangaliso Mosehle, Abraham Pienaar, Rilee Rossouw, JonJon Smuts, Yaseen Vallie.
