BCCI plans two U-19 teams to play Bangladesh, Sri Lanka
BCCI to resume U-19 tournaments in India
|The Board of Control for Cricket in India is planning to host a tournament with two different U-19 teams against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in November. No U19 matches have been played since the outbreak of the Covid-19 outbreak in March 2020, and the cricket board aims to resume it from November.
The U-19 matches were on hold since March 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, which is still making scheduling tough for various cricket teams across the globe. The ICC U19 WC is just four months away, which is scheduled to begin in January 2022 in the West Indies.
The BCCI is planning to host a tournament with two India U19 teams, who will play against Sri Lanka and reigning champions Bangladesh. The BCCI will resume their domestic U-19 one-day tournament with the Vinoo Mankad Trophy which is scheduled to begin from September 20, followed by a four-team Challenger Trophy. The cricket board is hopeful of resuming the U19 matches after a long period to ensure enough practice for the Indian players ahead of the U19 WC 2022.
"The board usually arranges multiple U19 series - both home and overseas - to prepare a crop of U-19 cricketers for the World Cup. The pandemic has hampered the normal process. It's important for the young boys to have some international experience," a BCCI official told TOI.
The NCA head, Rahul Dravid, is providing the players ample amount of time ahead of the WC squad selection. There are only two domestic tournaments for the team, thus the board had decided to provide a tournament with international sides to strengthen the players.
“This is why the board has thought of fielding two teams. Bangladesh are a tough opposition in U-19 cricket. This tournament help will test out the players," the official added
The BCCI is planning to finalize their core selection team by September first week to pick the players for different tournaments ahead of the WC. At the same time, the state associations are rushing to finalize their U-19 players for the tournament. The teams participating will have to quarantine themselves for seven days ahead of the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.
The board had revealed the revised domestic cricket calendar last week.
