U19 World Cup: Young talent on display as event gets under way

Opening matches to be held between SA, Bangladesh and England, Fiji

DUBAI: Cricket’s finest young talent will be on display when the ICC U19 World Cup 2016 starts in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, with South Africa opening their title defence against hosts Bangladesh and England facing Fiji.

Starry-eyed teenagers drawn from nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members – Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland – will battle for supremacy in the 19-day event that will unveil the stars of the future.

Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super League quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate Championships.



The previous 10 editions have thrown up stars such as Brian Lara, Inzamamul Haq, Chris Gayle, Virender Sehwag, Michael Clarke, Yuvraj Singh, Steven Smith, Virat Kohli, Brendon McCullum, Angelo Mathews, Kagiso Rabada, Mushfiqur Rahim, Joe Root and others, and the 2016 event promises to be no different.

Three-time winner India is coached by batting great Rahul Dravid and captained by wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, who hails from Jharkhand, the same state as World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni.

The Indians showed it will be the team to beat as it piled a mammoth 485-3 against Canada in a warm-up match and then defeated Pakistan by five wickets in another practice game ahead of the tournament.



England, seeking to end 18-year drought after winning its only title way back in 1998, is led by Brad Taylor, an off-spinning all-rounder from Hampshire who is one of nine players in the squad to have played county cricket at the senior level.

Two-time champions Pakistan warmed up for the tournament by winning a tri-series against Australia and New Zealand in the UAE earlier this month, albeit on run-rates after all three teams secured two wins each in the double-leg event.

Bangladesh will fancy its chances on home turf with a side that boasts of five players who also took part in the previous edition in the UAE in 2014. Mehidy Hassan Miraz will captain the host nation for the second time.



South Africa will defend the title under Tony de Zorzi, hoping to repeat its UAE performance where it defeated Pakistan in the final to make up for two runners-up spots in 2002 and 2008.

The seven non-Test-playing nations are determined to stand up and be counted as well, especially fast-improving Afghanistan, which finished seventh two years ago and is aiming to progress even further in the tournament.

Coverage

The future stars of international cricket are primed to become household names as the ICC is set to produce live coverage of a record 20 matches from the ICC U19 Cricket World Cup Bangladesh 2016 which, in turn, will be aired around the world by 15 broadcasters.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 27^th, 2016.

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.