The BCCI has announced that Uday Saharan will captain the India squad at the Under 19 Men’s World Cup in South Africa early next year. Saharan, a middle-order batter who has represented Punjab at the U14, U16, and U19 levels and was the best run-scorer in the U19 One-Day Challenger Trophy, is also the India captain at the ongoing U19 Asia Cup in Dubai.

The 15-man squad that will compete in the tri-series with England and hosts South Africa in the run-up to the World Cup is the same one that will compete in the U19 Asia Cup.
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, Naman Tiwari
Adarsh Singh, a left-handed batsman from Uttar Pradesh, and Arshin Kulkarni, a right-handed batter from Maharashtra, have been India’s consistent opening combination in the three Asia Cup games so far, and the board has renewed its faith in the pair. Kulkarni is currently ranked third in the Asia Cup as of December 12, 2023.

Gujarat’s Rudra Mayur Patel bats at No.3, while captain Saharan bats two down after scoring 60 against Pakistan recently, although in a losing cause.

Aravelly Avanish Rao, a left-handed batter and keeper from Hyderabad, is expected to assume the gloves, with Himachal Pradesh’s Innesh Mahajan serving as his backup. Sachin Dhas of Maharashtra is one of the squad’s finishers.
Frontline bowlers feature left-arm pacer Naman Tiwari (Uttar Pradesh), right-arm pacer Raj Limbani (Baroda), left-arm spinner and vice-captain Saumy Kumar Pandey (Madhya Pradesh), and offspinner Murugan Abhishek (Hyderabad). Limbani is the Asia Cup’s leading wicket-taker as of December 12, 2023.

Kulkarni (right-arm pacer), Saharan (offspinner), and Mumbai’s Musheer Khan (left-arm orthodox), who is also Sarfaraz Khan’s brother, can all provide a few overs. The squad also includes right-arm pacer Aaradhya Shukla (Punjab), middle-order right-hand batter Priyanshu Moliya (Baroda), and right-arm pacer Dhanush Gowda (Karnataka).
Prem Devkar, Ansh Gosai, and Md. Amaan have been designated as travelling standbys for the tri-series, while the BCCI has nominated Digvijay Patil, Jayanth Goyat, P Vignesh, and Kiran Chormale as back-up players.

India will begin their U19 World Cup campaign against Bangladesh in Bloemfontein on January 20, 2024. The tri-series running up to it begins on December 29, 2023, with the final planned for January 10, 2024.