Stylish Asalanka to lead Sri Lanka contingent
The ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup is due to get underway on January 27 in Bangladesh who will be hosting the tournament for the second time with the previous being 2004.
This tournament which is the ninth edition could be termed as a tournament for the emerging stars where some of the players have showcased their talent with immense success.
The tournament will be played in eight venues with two each in Sylhet (Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and Sylhet District Stadium, Cox Bazar (Sheikh Kamal International Cricket Stadium and Sheik Kamal International Cricket Stadium Academy Ground and Chittagong (Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium and M.A. Aziz Stadium and one each in the Fatullah (Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium and capital Dhaka (Shere Bangla National Stadium, Mirpur).
Three time champions Australia who is also the defending champion pulled out of the tournament due to concerns over security.
To fill the void of Australia the ICC invited Ireland to join the fray and at the inception the Ireland team was interested and with much discussion they have agreed and confirmed their participation.
Ireland will replace Australia in Group D and will join India with whom they will play their first match on January, Nepal who beat them in the ICC qualifier in October and New Zealand.
Defending champion South Africa, like England, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, will be appearing with a completely fresh set of players, though Dayyaan Galiem who will appear in this edition, was named in South Africa’s original squad for the 2014 event but was later withdrew.
The tournament proper will begin with two matches down for decision with host Bangladesh playing South Africa and England confronting Fiji who is making their first appearance in the U19 World Cup with both the matches scheduled to be played in Chittagong.
For the first time in the history of this competition, ICC will produce live broadcast coverage of 20 matches. The matches which will be shown around the world by ICC broadcast partner, Star Sports and its licensees.
Meanwhile Richmond’s Charith Asalanka will lead the Sri Lanka U19 team with Sammu Ashan of Ananda has his deputy while the new player to be included was Charana Nanayakkara of Thurstan.
The other members of the squad are Kaveen Bandara (DSS), Salinda Ushan (Isipathana), Avishka Fernando (St Sebastian’s Moratuwa), Wanidu Hasaranga (Richmond), Kamindu Mendis (Richmond), Vishad Randika (Isipathana), Lahiru Samarakoon (Dharmaraja), Asitha Fernando (St Sebastian’s Katuneriya), Lahiru Kumara (Trinity), Jehan Daniel (St Joseph’s), Damitha Silva (Maliyadeva) and Thilan Nimesh (Prince of Wales).
Sri Lanka will play their first match against Canada on January 28 at Sylhet District Stadium, Afghanistan on January 30 at Sylhet International Cricket Stadium and Pakistan on February 3 at Shere Bangla Stadium, Mirpur.
All matches will be day fixtures and will start at 0900 local time. The Super League semi-finals and final will have reserve days.
The 16 teams divided into four groups:
Group A: Bangladesh, Namibia, Scotland, South Africa.
Group B: Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Canada.
Group C: West Indies, Zimbabwe, England, Fiji.
Group D: India, New Zealand, Nepal, Ireland.
- MSA