Priyam Garg to lead the India Colts in the 13th World Cup to be held in South Africa from Jan 17th – Feb 9th, 2020
The 13th edition of the World Cup will be played between 16 teams, split into four groups. India are placed in Group A with New Zealand, Sri Lanka and first-time qualifier Japan. The top two teams from each group will then qualify for the Super League stage.
Priyam Garg to Lead the U-19 Squad
Uttar Pradesh batsman Priyam Garg will lead the defending champions. The 19-year-old Garg, a right handed top-order batsman, has a first-class double hundred and a List A century to his name. He was a part of the India C team that finished runner-up in the Deodhar Trophy. He hit a 74 in the final against India B last month.
Priyam Garg says his journey from a small child without means to buy cricket gear to becoming the Indian team captain for Under-19 World Cup would not have been possible without the sacrifice of his father, who resorted to driving a school van to fulfil his son’s ambitions. Hailing from village Quila Parikshitgarh, about 25km from Meerut, Priyam picked up the bat and ball at the tender age of six.
“My father Naresh Garg drives a school van. I have three brothers and three sisters. I am the youngest in the family. My father didn’t have enough money to take care of such a big family and support my cricket career,” Priyam told PTI Bhasha.”But seeing my love and dedication for the sport, he borrowed some money from his friend and bought me a cricket kit and arranged for my coaching. I started playing cricket and due to my father’s hard work today I’m captain of the under-19 team,” he added.
India have won the ICC Under-19 World Cup four times. India are the most successful team having won four titles till date, including in 2018, when they beat Australia by eight wickets in the final and remained unbeaten in the tournament. Ahead of the World Cup, the the U-19 team will travel to South Africa for three one-day matches against the Proteas U-19 side, followed by a Quadrangular Series featuring South Africa U-19, India U-19, Zimbabwe U-19 and New Zealand U-19.
Hyderabad’s CTL Rakshan will be the additional player in the squad for the South Africa tour and the Quadrangular Series.
Tournament Dates: 7th January – 9th February, 2020 in South Africa
India Under 19 squad for World Cup: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Divyansh Saxena, Priyam Garg (C), Dhruv Chand Jurel (VC & wk), Shashwat Rawat, Divyansh Joshi, Shubhang Hegde, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Sushant Mishra, Vidyadhar PatilIndia Under 19 squad for the tour of South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Divyansh Saxena, Priyam Garg (C), Dhruv Chand Jurel (VC & wk), Shashwat Rawat, Divyansh Joshi, Shubhang Hegde, Ravi Bishnoi, Akash Singh, Kartik Tyagi, Atharva Ankolekar, Kumar Kushagra (wk), Sushant Mishra, Vidyadhar Patil, CTL Rakshan
This article was originally published in FirstPost.com