New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS): The Junior Cricket Committee has picked Uday Saharan as the captain of India’s U19 squad set to play in the upcoming ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2023. The tournament will be played in the UAE from December 8-17.

India enters the competition as defending champions and are also the most successful side in the tournament, having won the trophy eight times. The Saharan-led U19 squad will consist of 15 members, with Saumy Kumar Pandey as vice-captain and Aravelly Avanish Rao as wicket-keeper.

The squad also has Rudra Mayur Patel and Sachin Dhas, the top-two run-scorers in the ongoing U19 Quadrangular series, as well as leading wicket-takers in Musheer Khan and Naman Tiwari. The quadrangular series also features teams from England and Bangladesh, and will be ending on November 27 in Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh.

The squad will also have three travelling standby players in Prem Devkar, Ansh Gosai and Md. Amaan. The selection committee has also named four additional reserve players in Digvijay Patil, Jayanth Goyat, P Vignesh and Kiran Chormale. The reserve players, though, will not be part of the touring contingent.

In the ACC Men’s U19 Asia Cup 2023, India will be playing league-stage matches against Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nepal on December 8, 10 and 12 respectively, with ICC Academy Ovals 1 & 2 being the venues.

The semi-finals will happen on December 15 in ICC Academy Oval 1 and Dubai International Stadium respectively, with the final to happen on December 17 at the latter.

India U19 squad: Arshin Kulkarni, Adarsh Singh, Rudra Mayur Patel, Sachin Dhas, Priyanshu Moliya, Musheer Khan, Uday Saharan (C), Aravelly Avanish Rao (WK), Saumy Kumar Pandey (VC), Murugan Abhishek, Innesh Mahajan (WK), Dhanush Gowda, Aaradhya Shukla, Raj Limbani and Naman Tiwari.

Traveling stand-by players: Prem Devkar, Ansh Gosai and Md. Amaan

Reserve players: Digvijay Patil, Jayanth Goyat, P Vignesh and Kiran Chormale