The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced a whopping cash reward of Rs 5 crore for India's women's Under-19 T20 World Cup-winning squad, which defeated England by seven wickets in the final at JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom, South Africa, on Sunday.
'If I were Prithvi, I would quickly evaluate and conclude that fitness is a major missing piece in his game. Without it, his future in cricket is uncertain.'
The inaugural edition's winner Mumbai Indians will bank on their core group of players while two-time finalists Delhi Capitals will expect fireworks from Shafali Verma when they face-off in the second game of the Women's Premier League here on Saturday. The finalists of the first WPL in 2023, both Mumbai Indians and Delhi Capitals made it to the knockouts in the second edition last year but lost to the eventual champions Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the eliminator and the final respectively. Those defeats were certainly not reflective of how well MI and DC had fared until the knockouts stage, with Harmanpreet Kaur's side finishing second in the points table with five wins in eight matches and Meg Lanning's team topping it with six wins in as many outings. The winners of WPL 2023, Mumbai Indians tend to lean on their core group of players both overseas and Indian and a similar approach can be expected this year, with only a few changes taking place in terms of squad composition. India pacer Pooja Vastrakar, who was grappling with an unspecified injury, was ruled out of the competition and has been replaced by slow left-arm orthodox bowler Parunika Sisodia, who was one of the main performers in India's title-winning campaign in the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup recently. Mumbai Indians have let go of England's Issy Wong, who took the first-ever WPL hat-trick in 2023, after the player lost form and the franchise found the leader of their attack in South Africa's Shabnim Ismail. Among domestic talents, another member of the U-19 T20 World Cup winning squad G Kamalini would be one to watch out for, having finished as the third highest scorer in the competition with 143 runs in seven matches. Apart from a strong leader in Harmanpreet, MI have strong figures from other international sides such as Nat Sciver-Brunt (England), Hayley Matthews (West Indies), Amelia Kerr (New Zealand), as well as South Africans Nadine de Klerk, Shabnim Ismail and Chloe Tryon. While Yastika Bhatia is MI's No 1 wicketkeeper-batter, other Indian players in Saika Ishaque, Sajana Sajeevan, uncapped Akshita Maheshwari and Amanjot Kaur will be expected to play their roles to perfection. On their part, Delhi Capitals will be keen to do one better after finishing as runner-up for two times in a row ever since the competition began. One of the most consistent teams in the competition, the Lanning-led Delhi have strong talent base across departments but the key will be to deliver in crucial matches. All eyes will be on the explosive Indian batter Shafali who has responded to her exclusion from the Indian side with runs in domestic cricket. She forms a lethal opening pair with Lanning at the top, while the likes of Australia's Annabel Sutherland, England's Alice Capsey and India's Jemimah Rodrigues form the core of their middle order. All-rounder Sutherland will hope to draw inspiration from her recent success of having struck 163 in the only Test of the women's Ashes followed by winning the highest individual honour in Australian cricket. While Delhi boasts of three wicketkeeper-batters in India's Taniyaa Bhatia, Nandini Kashyap and Scotland's Sarah Bryce, their bowling looks settled with Marizanne Kapp as the leader of the attack, backed by Australia's Jess Jonassen, India's Radha Yadav and Shikha Pandey as well as Titas Sadhu.
Maharashtra batsman Vijay Zol will lead the India Under-19 squad for the ACC Asia Cup in the UAE, which begins on December 28. Kerala wicketkeeper Sanju Vishwanadh, who was part of the Under-19 team for the Asia Cup in 2012, has been named his deputy.
Having a left-arm quick of Singh's calibre gives the bowling attack the much-needed heft and variety. It's like having another bow in Team India's quiver, notes Vishal Menon.
The match against India on Tuesday, will be his first outing in a Bangladesh jersey.
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Close on the heels of Parveez Rasool's selection in the Indian team for the Zimbabwe tour, another Jammu and Kashmir cricketer Shubham Khajuria was on Wednesday selected in the India Under-19 squad for the tour of Sri Lanka.
'Winding down for team dinner before we hit the road for the away leg.'
Former Mumbai Indians captain Rohit Sharma hoped the new faces roped in by his side for this edition of the IPL are able to make a mark from the outset as the franchise aims for a record sixth title under new skipper Hardik Pandya.
Following their crushing 203-run victory against Pakistan in the semi-final of the Under-19 World Cup on Tuesday, the victorious Indian team celebrated the win with their fans at the Hagley Oval, in Christchurch.
'India is known for its guru shishya parampara and the Guru always gets more.'
The 18-year-old right-handed batsman struck three fifties and a hundred in the U-19 World Cup, which India won for the record fourth time after thrashing Australia by eight wickets in the final on Saturday.
In an extraordinary moment at the IPL 2025 Auction, 13-year-old batting prodigy Vaibhav Suryavanshi became the youngest crorepati of the season.
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Harnoor Singh struck a fine hundred before the India's bowlers ran through the opposition to complete a 154-run rout of UAE in their opening Under-19 Asia Cup match, in Dubai, on Thursday.
'The next ODI World Cup is at home and we have not won a global event yet at the senior level. I am sure the BCCI is prioritising that and will keep these players in the mix.'
Shafali, who has already played 51 T20Is, 21 ODIs and two Test matches for the senior team at the international level, looked in excellent touch as she toyed with the South African bowlers and put her side on course for a big win.
Bangladesh captain Shakib Al Hasan on Wednesday rued the absence of experienced players like Liton Das, but said they have enough quality in their ranks to paper over their unavailability in the Asia Cup.
The second four-day match will start from October 7 at Chepauk, hence Samit has another week to recover from the knee injury.
'Today, U20 players are losing to Bangladesh, not qualifying for the Asia Cup. We can't expect miracles from the senior team. We need to really work at the ground level. The important thing for the AIFF is to bring as many kids as possible to play.'
Starc dismantled SRH's top order with sheer pace, while Kuldeep's control in the middle overs ensured there was no way back for the batting side.
'We have done that at U-19 level but at this World Cup, I don't have any words to describe the feeling back home.'
The WPL action is slated to be held on February 13 in Mumbai, a day after India's T20 World Cup opener against Pakistan.
It is understood that a lot of focus was on how to build combinations for the World Cup.
Invited to bat, Shafali, a regular in the India senior team, and Sehrawat, stitched a 111-run stand for the first wicket.
Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday felicitated the India Under-19 women's cricket team, who won the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in South Africa.
If Smith is ruled out, then the left-hand batter Travis Head will lead the squad as he is the vice-captain of the side.
'With him in particular, I've had a lot of chats with him, a lot of conversations to try and make him a better cricketer.'
Nathan McSweeney is on the brink of a major debut, set to partner Usman Khawaja as Australia's opening batters in the series against India.
Defending champions South Africa crashed out of the ICC U19 World Cup after suffering a shock two-wicket loss against qualifier Namibia in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh on Sunday.
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Australia put themselves squarely in the hunt for an ICC Under-19 women's T20 World Cup semi-final spot, after they outclassed India by seven wickets in their Super Six clash.
In all, Axar has led in 24 matches across all formats, winning 12, losing 10 and two matches ended in a draw.
Young prodigy Yashasvi Jaiswal on Thursday said batting stalwart Rahul Dravid had advised him to focus on each ball and this suggestion immensely helped him.
Yash Dhull was on Monday removed as Delhi captain, hours after the team suffered a heavy defeat against Puducherry in their Ranji Trophy opening match.
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''He took India to new heights in Test cricket. I haven't seen someone who has adapted so quickly. '
Dhas (116, 101 balls) and Saharan (100, 107 balls), who added 215 off 202 balls, lifted India from a tricky 62/3 to a formidable 297/5 after they opted to bat first.
Gautam Dasgupta said that the tournament would help teams prepare for next year's U-19 World Cup
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