Abhishek Sharma set to lead India Under-19 in Youth Asia Cup

551
Abhishek Sharma
17-year old Prithvi Shaw, who came into limelight following his monumental 546 has been included in the side © BCCL

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), on Thursday (November 3), named their 15-man squad for the forthcoming Youth Asia Cup to be held in Sri Lanka from December 8 to 22. Abhishek Sharma, the all-rounder from Punjab, has been appointed as the captain.

Abhishek, who bats in the middle-order and bowls slow left-arm orthodox, came into prominence when he picked up a five-fer and crunched a noteworthy innings of 66 for Punjab against Mumbai in the Under-16 Vijay Merchant Trophy final in January this year.

The 16-year-old all-rounder also netted in an impressive 226 against Jammu and Kashmir in one of the earlier games in the tournament. Shubmam Gill, Abhishek’s Punjab teammate, has earned a place in the set-up.

The 18-year-old had teamed up with Abhishek to share a stand of 352 for the fourth wicket against Gujarat in the quarter-final of the Vijay Merchant Trophy.

Prithvi Shaw, who had notched a monumental 546 while playing for Rizvi Springfield in the Harris Shield in 2013, has also been handed out an opportunity to impress.

The right-handed batsman was in prolific form in the just concluded Under-19 Vinoo Mankad Trophy. In fact, his unbeaten 113 in the final against Maharashtra helped Mumbai chase down a target of 193. Sandip Tomar, who plays for the Uttar Pradesh Under-19 set-up, will don the wicketkeeping duties.

The Youth Asia Cup comprises of eight teams and will be played on a round-robin basis. Hambantota, the Galle International Stadium, Uyanwatta Stadium and Mahinda Rajapaksa International Stadium are the venues for the tournament.

Squad

Prithvi Shaw, Shubman Gill, Digvijay Birender Rangi, Chandan Sahani, Priyam Garg, Abhishek Sharma (Captain), Daryl S Ferrario, Sandeep K Tomar (WK), Ayush Jamwal, Rahul Deshraj Chahar, Kamlesh Singh Nagarkoti, Rishabh Bhagat, Simarjeet Singh, Izhaan Ashfaque Sayed, Shiva Singh