India will open their campaign on December 12 against one of the two qualifiers.
Photo: IANS
Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre has been appointed captain of the India Under-19 team for the ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup, to be held in Dubai from December 12. The BCCI announced a 15-member squad for the tournament, which also features aggressive opener Vaibhav Suryavanshi. Vihaan Malhotra has been named vice-captain.
The ACC Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup will be played in the one-day format. India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan and two qualifying teams, while Group B comprises Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan and another qualifier. India will open their campaign on December 12 against one of the two qualifiers.
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Mhatre, meanwhile, has not been in the best of form recently. He impressed for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2025—where he was brought in to replace Ruturaj Gaikwad—scoring 240 runs in seven matches at a strike rate of nearly 189. Since then, however, he has struggled for consistency.
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India have assembled an exciting squad featuring some of the brightest young talents poised to shine on the international stage. The team is further bolstered by four standby players—Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, BK Kishore and Aditya Rawat, who add depth and reliable backup options.
India enter the tournament as eight-time champions, the most by any country in the competition. They narrowly missed out on the title last year after losing to current holders Bangladesh in the final.
The eight-team tournament begins on December 12, with India facing Qualifier 1 at the ICC Academy Ground in Dubai. On the same day, Pakistan will meet Qualifier 3 at The Seven Stadium.
India will then take on Pakistan on December 14 before facing Qualifier 3 on December 16. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the semifinals, scheduled for December 19.
The final will be played on December 21.
India squad for the Men’s Under-19 Asia Cup
Ayush Mhatre (capt), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vihaan Malhotra (vice-capt), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh (subject to fitness clearance), Udhav Mohan, Aaron George.
Standby players: Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, BK Kishore, Aditya Rawat.
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