India begin their U19 World Cup campaign against USA on Thursday in Bulwayo. |
India will begin their U19 World Cup 2026 campaign when they take on USA. The Men in Blue are the most successful side in U19 World Cup history. They come into the tournament however as the beaten finalists, with the Uday Saharan-led side losing to Australia in the final.
India’s squad for the current edition is a strong one. Ayush Mhatre and Vaibhav Suryavanshi are two proven performers at the IPL level. Leading up to the U19 World Cup this year, the Indian team has won 16 Youth ODIs and lost just five, with a fantastic win percentage of over 76.
Vaibhav Suryavanshi has scored 973 runs in Youth ODIs at an average of 54.05, with three centuries and four fifties and a best score of 171. His strike rate is over 164, and he is one of the most dangerous batters heading into the tournament.
Spin all-rounder Kanishk Chauhan is the leading bowler heading into the tournament, with 22 wickets in 15 matches at an average of 24.13, with best figures of 3/20. Right-arm pacer Deepesh Devendranhas also done a fine job, with 15 wickets in 10 matches at an average of 27.86, with best figures of 3/16.
Leading up to the tournament, India U19 has won five series out of six, with a 3-0 clean sweep against Australia at home, a tightly fought 3-2 win over England in the UK, a 3-0 series win against Australia being the highlights. They also secured a 3-0 series win in South Africa.
However, the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Under-19 Asia Cups have not been India’s strongest tournaments, as they lost to Pakistan by 191 runs in a one-sided final last year and to Bangladesh Under-19 in 2024 by 59 runs. So, the big-match ability of Team India will be put to the test.
IND vs USA: U19 World Cup 2026 Live Streaming details
Star Sports Network are the official broadcasters of all ICC events in India. The U19 World Cup 2026 will also as a result be telecast live on the Star Sports Network. Live streaming for the same can also be found on the JioHotstar app and website. The IND vs USA match kick starts at 1:00 PM IST. Toss is set to be at 12:30 PM IST.
India’s squad for Under-19 ODI World Cup 2026
Ayush Mhatre (c), Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D. Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan
