Even as the senior Indian squad is engaged in a tour of England, the Under-19 India team is on a concurrent tour. Having won the five-match ODI series 3-2, the Under-19 Indian team is now set to face England U-19 in a two-match youth Test series starting with the first match on Saturday, July 12, at the County Ground in Beckenham.
England Announce Squad for First Youth Test
The England U-19 team for the first Test has been revealed, with Hamza Sheikh – the Warwickshire opener – being appointed captain. Sheikh resumes the captaincy role having last led the side against Sri Lanka last summer. He was excluded from the South Africa U-19 tour earlier this year due to his England Lions commitments.
Interestingly, the 15-man squad also features three Indians-turned-English-players of Indian origin – Aryan Sawant, Eksh Singh, and Jai Singh – with the increasing diversity in England’s youth pool.
| England Squad |
|---|
| Tajim Ali |
| Jayden Denly |
| Rocky Flintoff |
| Alex French |
| Alex Green |
| Jack Home |
| Ben Mayes |
| Sebastian Morgan |
| James Minto |
| Thomas Reeve |
| Aryan Sawant |
| Eksh Singh |
| Jai Singh |
| Archie Vaughan |
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Legends’ Sons Make the Cut
Two big-ticket names among the squad are already making waves – Rocky Flintoff, son of former England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff, and Archie Vaughan, son of former England skipper Michael Vaughan.
Rocky Flintoff impressed in the recent India ODIs, aggregating 222 runs from five matches, including a century and half-century. His performances have merit him a fully deserving place in the Test team.
India’s U-19 Focus Shifts to Red-Ball Cricket
Following a closely contested white-ball leg, in which India U-19 emerged victorious 3-2, attention now shifts to the longer format. The second and final youth Test is to be played in Chelmsford, from July 20-23.
With dominant individual performances in the ODIs and new talent on both sides, the Test series is expected to be a thrilling contest between two promising U-19 sides.
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