India’s squad for ICC U19 World Cup announced; Ayush Mhatre to lead

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Saturday, December 27, named the India U19 squad for the forthcoming ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2026, scheduled to start on Thursday, January 15.

Also, the BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming India U19 tour of South Africa, scheduled to start on Saturday, January 3. Interestingly, both Ayush Mhatre and Vihaan Malhotra have been ruled out of the South Africa tour due to wrist injuries.

However, Ayush Mhatre will be back as the captain for the ICC U19 World Cup while Vihaan Malhotra has been appointed as his deputy. For the unversed, Malhotra was recently by Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at the IPL 2026 mini-auction.

In Mhatre and Malhotra’s absence, the responsibility of leading the U19 team in South Africa has been given to Vaibhav Suryavanshi, with young batter Aaron George named as the vice-captain of the side. 

It’s important to note that India U19 is scheduled to play three Youth ODIs in South Africa before the start of the U19 World Cup in Zimbabwe and Namibia. India’s U19 World Cup campaign will begin with the clash against the United States of America. They will then take on Bangladesh and New Zealand in Group B. The grand finale of the ICC U19 World Cup is scheduled to be played on February 6.

India U19 squad for U19 South Africa tour: 

Vaibhav Sooryavanshi (c), Aaron George (vc), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D. Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan, Yuvraj Gohil, Rahul Kumar.

India U19 squad for U19 World Cup:

Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Aaron George, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D. Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan.

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