India announce team for Under-19 Asia Cup

Promising batsman Uday Saharan will lead defending champions India in the ACC Men's Under-19 Asia Cup to be played in the UAE from December 8.

Saharan, a 19-year-old cricketer from Punjab, has been on the selection radar for a while and he was also drafted in as a back-up player after the Indian squad was hit by Covid during last year's Under-19 World Cup in Antigua.

Saumy Kumar Pandey was named as vice-captain of the 15-member side.

India are the most successful team in the U19 Asia Cup having won the title eight times.

India are grouped with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nepal in the tournament. They will begin the campaign with a match against the Afghans on December 8 at the ICC Academy Oval-1.

In a much-anticipated match, India will lock horns with Pakistan on December 10 at the same venue, and in their final group match, they will face Nepal on December 12.

The final is scheduled to be played at the Dubai International Stadium on December 17.

India U19 squad: Uday Saharan (Captain), Saumy Kumar Pandey (vice-captain), Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Dhanush Gowda, Avinash Rao (wk), M Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan (wk), Aardhya Shukla, Raj Limbani, Naman Tiwari.

Travelling reserves: Prem Devkar, Ansh Gosai, Mohammad Aman.

Non-travelling reserves: Digvijay Patil, Jayant Goyat, P Vignesh, Kiran Chormale.