A wonderful beginning to the Under-19 Men’s WC 2024 cycle has begun with the all-awaited selection of the new U-19 Men’s squad! The selectors have finalized the squad they believe will perform their best after a successful Under 19 Men’s Championships in Van Nuys, California. With this, all players who have been selected will soon become familiar with the USA Cricket team possibly leading to a national team call-up. Of course, they will all have gained the necessary experience to become experienced players in the future, as they can attract attention from big leagues such as IPL and MLC! The following squad is below:

USA U19 Team:

• Rishi Ramesh (Captain)
• Utkarsh Srivastava (Vice-Captain)
• Aarin Nadkarni
• Aaryan Batra
• Amogh Arepally
• Arjun Mahesh
• Arya Garg
• Aryan Satheesh
• Ateendra Subramanian
• Bhavya Mehta
• Khush Bhalala
• Parth Patel
• Pranav Chettipalayam
• Siddarth Kappa

Reserves:

• Aditya Gupta
• Manav Nayak
• Rounak Rao

Some very exciting news for our local Dallas supporters, 2 of our very own Dallas players have been selected in the National U19 USA Team! The well-known Rishi Ramesh, and our blazing opener, Arjun Mahesh! Both have been around the National championships for a while now, but this year they were given a chance in the squad! Another spectacular achievement, Rishi Ramesh has been named the CAPTAIN of this under-19 team! What an opportunity to really showcase his skills as an exceptional leader and player!

During the U19 National Championships in Van Nuys, California, the Men’s Under 19 Selection Panel faced a challenging task of choosing 14 players and three reserves for the upcoming event. Their decision was based on the performances at the National Championships and earlier Hub and Zonal competitions, along with USA Cricket’s criteria, including attitude, fitness, and skills. The Panel also expressed their intent to continue monitoring all players, including those not selected, during local and domestic tournaments in the following months.

For preparation, the USA Cricket team is scheduled to travel to Toronto on August 2nd, where they will engage in a week-long build-up to the main event. During this period, they will play warm-up matches against their arch-rivals, Canada, before their first official World Cup qualifier match on August 11th.

The tournament will feature teams from Argentina and Bermuda, alongside hosts Canada and the USA. Unfortunately, Suriname withdrew from the competition earlier this month. As a result, it is likely that the tournament will follow a double-round robin format, with each team playing against each other twice. With only one spot at the World Cup up for grabs, every game will be of utmost importance! 

Chairman of the Men’s U19 Selection Panel, Amer Afzaluddin, said, “ We are excited by this group of players, and thank the Board for Conducting a successful National Tournament,” “As more children are taking up the sport, I also want to acknowledge all junior cricket stakeholders around the nation, and how essential they have been, and will continue to be to this growth. We are confident that the team will perform well in the qualifiers, and we wish the team and its management the best of luck.”

The USA is eagerly looking forward to the upcoming World Cup qualifiers, filled with hope for the talented Under-19 cricket team. These young players have a great opportunity ahead, as their performances could lead to being selected for the national team and even catching the attention of big leagues like IPL and MLC. This is just the beginning of their journey, and they have the potential to become future stars in American cricket. The entire cricketing community wishes them the best of luck as they aim for success on the international stage. With hard work, dedication, and passion, these young players can create a bright and exciting future for cricket in the USA.