Adithya Ashok, the under-19 leg-spinning wizard, whom we covered in detail in Issue no. 60 (page 22), has been included in the just announced 15-strong squad for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup in South Africa early next year.

The squad boasts players from all six Major Associations, and will travel to South Africa for a warm-up tournament starting on January 3, before the World Cup officially starts for them on January 18. “These boys should be proud of their selection in the U19 side but they will know the hard work is ahead of them,” said New Zealand Under-19 men’s coach Paul Wiseman, who is forecasting a challenging few months ahead for our young cricketers.

Meanwhile, Ashok’s selection comes after an impressive performance in the just-concluded NZC National Men’s Under 19 Tournament, with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) calling him “one of the stars of this year’s tournament”. He took 12 wickets in the tournament.

Talking to The Indian News, Ashok said, “I’m feeling honoured to be able to represent my country again and to do it on a world stage in an ICC tournament is unreal to think about. I think it will be a great opportunity for me to test myself against the best in the world from an age group standpoint and am really looking forward to the challenge.”

-Gaurav Sharma