Mumbai
India’s Under-19 team has been announced for the upcoming Women’s World Cup. The 15-member team will be led by Niki Prasad. India is the current Under-19 women’s champion and will try to defend the title this time too. Team India will carry forward its campaign under the leadership of Asia Cup winning team captain Nikki Prasad. Under the captaincy of Nicky, India recently won the first Under-19 Women’s Asia Cup title in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Interestingly, the Under-19 Women’s World Cup will also be held in Malaysia from January 18 to February 2, 2025.
In 2023, under the captaincy of Shafali Verma, India won the first Under-19 Women’s World Cup in South Africa. Vaishnavi S from the Asia Cup winning team has been included in the main team, while Nandhana S has been kept among the reserve players. Sanika Chalke will be the vice-captain of the team, and Kamalini and Bhavika Ahir have been selected as wicketkeepers.
There are 4 groups in the tournament, and each group will have 4 teams. India have been placed in Group A along with hosts Malaysia, West Indies and Sri Lanka. India’s group matches will be played at the Biamas Oval Stadium in Kuala Lumpur. India will play its first match against West Indies on 19 January. After the group stage, 3 teams from each group will qualify for the Super Six. In Super Six, 12 teams will be divided into two groups. Group 1 will have the top 3 teams of Group A and Group D. Whereas Group 2 will include the top 3 teams of Group B and Group C.
In the Super Six, teams will proceed with their previous points, wins and net run-rate. Each team will play 2 matches in Super Six. The top two teams from the two groups of Super Six will qualify for the semi-finals, which will be held on January 31, 2025. The final of the tournament will be played on February 2, 2025.
India team: Nikki Prasad (captain), Sanika Chalke (vice-captain), G Trisha, Kamalini G (wicketkeeper), Bhavika Ahir (wicketkeeper), Ishwari Awasre, Mithila Vinod, Joshita VJ, Sonam Yadav, Parineeta Sisodia, Kesri Drishti, Ayushi Shukla, Anandita Kishore, MD Shabnam, Vaishnavi S
Reserve players: Nandhana S, Ira J, Anadi T
