Everything you need know about the 2024 men's Under-19 World Cup

17 Jan, 2024 Last Update 3 months ago

This week marks the start of the 15th Under-19 men's World Cup in South Africa; here's all you need to know about the competition. On January 19, the USA will play Ireland, and South Africa will play the West Indies. Feb. 11 is the planned day of the final. The games will be held in Potchefstroom, Bloemfontein, Benoni, Kimberley, and East London, with South Africa serving as the host nation. Benoni will host both the semifinals and the championship game.

Wait a minute, wasn't Sri Lanka meant to be the hosts?

Yes, in fact. The Under-19 World Cup was scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka this year. However, it was prior to Sri Lanka Cricket being suspended by the ICC in November as a result of significant government meddling in the board's operations. As a result, South Africa was chosen to host the biennial competition for the third time, following their hosting of it in 1998 and 2020.

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Will the structure remain the same as it did in the prior edition?

Not exactly. This time around, the competition will follow the same structure as the Under-19 Women's World Cup from the previous year. The top three teams from each of the 16 groups of four teams will advance to the Super Sixes stage, where the 12 teams will be split into two groups of six. Each group's top two teams will move on to the semifinals.

The competition won't conclude for any of the four teams who are eliminated in the group round, though. The playoffs will determine the players' placements from 13th to 16th by giving them valuable playing time.

How did the teams earn their spots?

Even though the event was shifted to South Africa, Sri Lanka was nevertheless granted the privilege to host qualifying, and all other Full Member countries that took part in the 2022 edition also automatically qualified. The five other teams advanced past the regional qualifying round.

New Zealand advanced from the East Asia Pacific qualifiers, having chosen to skip the last event because of the Covid-19 quarantine rules for minors. In Africa, Namibia prevailed in the qualifications, and Nepal triumphed in Asia. The USA prevailed in the Americas qualifying group, while Scotland won the European qualifications.

everything-you-need-know-about-the-2024-mens-under19-world-cup

Are there any teams participating in their first World Cup?

Nope. Every team taking part in this year's competition qualified for earlier Under-19 World Cups. The USA, who are participating in their third U-19 World Cup, are the side with the least amount of experience.

Who are some athletes to keep an eye on?

Arshin Kulkarni, an all-round seam bowler for India, begins the batting. Rahman Hekmat, a New Zealander, is an Afghan-born legspinner who draws inspiration from Rashid Khan and Shane Warne. Luc Benkenstein of England, Allah Mohammad Ghazanfar of Afghanistan, and Ubaid Shah of Pakistan are just a handful of the other players who may succeed in the competition.

Ubaid Shah? That last name seems to be well-known

That's because Ubaid is Naseem Shah's brother, a Pakistani international. There are more well-known names in the tournament than that one!

Afghanistan's team will be led by the nephew of Rashid Khan and the son of Mohammad Nabi; Luc is the son of former South Africa batter Dale Benkenstein. This year, Sarfaraz Khan's brother Musheer will be competing for India, where he shined in the 2016 Under-19 World Cup. Just a handful of the numerous familial ties present in the 2024 Under-19 World Cup are listed below.

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Who are the winners in the past?

India defeated England in the final of the 2022 competition, which was led by Yash Dhull. In the competition's history, India has emerged as the most successful team, having won six times: in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, and 2022.

Who else has taken home the trophy?

Pakistan has won the championship twice, in 2004 and 2006, while Australia has won it three times, in 1988, 2002, and 2010. The event has been won once apiece by Bangladesh (2020), South Africa (2014), West Indies (2016), and England (1998).

Will DRS be used in the contests this time, finally?

DRS will not be accessible throughout the competition, despite the fact that there will be TV umpires for every game.