The start of the India U19 tour of Sri Lanka 2018 will mark a new cycle of budding cricketers in action as two neighbouring countries prepare for another bout in the cricketing field.
>>Sri Lanka U19 vs India U19 – 1st Youth Test<<
The visiting young Indians are set to play two four day matches and five one-day matches from 17th July to 10th August in the island nation.
The hosts’ will be led by middle order batsman Nipun Dhananjaya of St. Joseph Vaz College, Wennappuwa and they will be coached by former Test captain Hashan Tillakarathne.
With two years to go for the next World Cup, Dhananjaya, a tremendously talented player in all three aspects has been earmarked to be in a leadership position with his prior experience.
The Lankan side consist of five players (Nipun Dhananjaya, Nishan Madushka, Kalana Perera, Nuwanidu Fernando and Nipun Malinga) who played the ICC U19 World Cup in New Zealand earlier this year.
The pace of Thomian Perera and Mahindian Malinga will be interesting to watch while 15-year old Josephian left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage and Richmond College off-spinner Sandun Mendis will be the key spinners in the lineup.
The most interesting addition to the Lankan side will be the Jaffna Central College leg-spinner Vijayakanth Viyaskanthan who took four wickets in the tour game.
Moratu Maha Vidyalaya wicket-keeper batsman Nishan Madushka who made an interesting debut recently for Team Dambulla in the SLC Super Provincial Limited Overs Tournament, St. Sebastian’s College middle order batsman Nuwanidu Fernando, Royal College big match hero Pasindu Sooriyabandara will form a strong batting unit along with the Captain.
The Indians will be led by middle order batsman Anuj Rawat in the four-day matches while Aryan Juyal will captain the team in the one-day matches.
Rawat has played three Ranji Trophy games for Delhi while Juyal was a member of the India U19 team which won the Youth World Cup under the captaincy of Prithvi Shaw.
Another high-profile player in the Indian ranks is Arjun Tendulkar, son of Indian batting legend Sachin, who will be the cynosure of all eyes as he is set to make his debut for the U19 team. Unlike his father, Arjun falls more in the bracket of a bowling all-rounder.
Players like seamer Akash Pandey, opening batsman Pawan Shah and Atharva Taide will look to make an impact in their maiden tour with the U19 team.
Both countries have included a mixture of players who are eligible and not eligible to play the next U19 World Cup in 2020.
Sri Lanka U19 Four Day Squad – Nipun Dananjaya (Captain), Nishan Madushka, Nuwanidu Fernando, Kalana Perera, Nipun Malinga, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Kamil Mishara, Navod Paranavithana, Sandun Mendis, Dunith Wellalage, Pubudu Bandara, Nawodya Wijayakumara, Kalhara Senarathne, Shashika Dulshan, Naveen Fernando, Vijayakanth Viyaskanthan.
Coach – Hashan Tillakarathne
Photos: Sri Lanka U19 Team for India Series 2018
India U19 Four Day Squad – Anuj Rawat (Captain), Aryan Juyal (Vice-Captain) Atharva Taide, Devdutt Padikkal, (WK), Yash Rathod, Ayush Badoni, Sameer Choudhary, Siddharth Desai, Harsh Tyagi, Y.D. Mangwani, Arjun Tendulkar, Nehal Wadhera, Akash Pandey, Mohit Jangra, Pawan Shah.
Coach – W.V Raman
Photos: India U19 Team for Sri Lanka Series 2018
Full Fixtures
- 1st Youth Test – 17/18/19/20 July – NCC Grounds, Colombo
- 2nd Youth Test – 24/25/26/27 July – Mahinda Rajapaksha Stadium, Hambanthota
- 1st Youth ODI – 30 July – P. Sara Oval Grounds, Colombo
- 2nd Youth ODI – 2 August – SSC Grounds, Colombo
- 3rd Youth ODI – 5 August – SSC Grounds, Colombo
- 4th Youth ODI – 7 August – De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa
- 5th Youth ODI – 10 August – De Soysa Stadium, Moratuwa
All the action from the Sri Lanka U19 vs India U19 tour will be shown LIVE on ThePapare.com/Dialog TV Channel No. 1 and Dialog MyTV.
