The Indian U-19 team will start their Asia Cup campaign against Afghanistan in Dubai on Friday, while Pakistan will take on Nepal, in the other match on the opening day of the competition. The most-awaited clash of the U-19 Asian Cup, India vs Pakistan is scheduled for December 10, in the eight-team competition.
Meanwhile, all the teams are divided into two groups, and India and Pakistan are clubbed in Pool A, along with Afghanistan and Nepal. Pool B, on the other hand, will have Bangladesh, Japan, Sri Lanka, and the hosts UAE. As per the format of the U-19 Asia Cup, only two teams from each Pool will progress to the semis, which will be played on December 15, while the final will be played on December 17.
History of U-19 Asia Cup
India won the last edition of the tournament held in 2021, after beating Sri Lanka. This was their record-eighth title and had some prominent IPL names in the squad — Yash Dhull, Raj Bawa, and Rajvardhan Hangarekar. Meanwhile, India’s first title came in 1989, at the inaugural edition of the tournament. Then it was only in 2003, in Pakistan, that the second edition of the tournament was played.
U-19 Asia Cup India 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.
U-19 Asia Cup Schedule
All matches will begin at 9:30 am local time.
8 December
India vs Afghanistan
Pakistan vs Nepal
9 December
Bangladesh vs UAE
Sri Lanka vs Japan
10 December
India vs Pakistan
Afghanistan vs Nepal
11 December
Sri Lanka vs UAE
Bangladesh vs Japan
12 December
Pakistan vs Afghanistan
India vs Nepal
13 December
Bangladesh vs Sri Lanka
UAE vs Japan
15 December
Semi-Final 1
Semi-Final 2
17 December
Final
