The Team
The India U-19, Asia Cup squad includes Yash Dhull (captain), Harnoor Singh, Angkrish Raghuvanshi, SK Rasheed (vice-captain), Nishant Sindhu, Siddarth Yadav, Aneeshwar Gautam, Dinesh Bana (wk), Aaradhya Yadav (wk), Raj Angad Bawa, Manav Parakh, Kaushal Tambe, RS Hangargekar, Vasu Vats, Vicky Ostwal, Ravikumar, Garv Sangwan.
Haryana’s Nisthanth Sindhu, Karnataka’s Aneeshwar Gautam (518 runs, 11 wickets), Maharashtra’s Vicky Ostwal (307 runs, 11 wickets) and Tamil Nadu’s Manav Parakh (154 runs, 21 wickets) are India’s options for the spin-bowling all-rounder’s spot.
There is a three-way competition between Haryana’s Raj Angad Bawa (19 wickets, 290 runs), Maharashtra’s RS Hangargekar (26 wickets, 244 runs) and Garv Sangwan for seam-bowling all-rounder’s spot.
Vasu Vats and Bengal’s left-arm quick Ravi Kumar are expected to be new ball options In Salaudeen’s absence. Rishit Reddy, Uday Saharan, Ansh Gosai, Amrit Raj Upadhyay, PM Singh Rathore are the stand by players.
Siddharth Yadav
However, Siddharth Yadav, son of shopkeeper Shravan Yadav has been the centre of attention since Sunday evening, when he was selected to represent the country.
The Board of Control also selected several other players born in families with sports backgrounds for Cricket in India across the country.
Mumbai batsman Angkrish Raghuvanshi’s parents belong to the sports background as well, Raghuvanshi’s father Avneesh played tennis for India, and his mother Malika represented the country in volleyball. Batsman Harnoor Singh’s father, Birinder Singh, was an under-19 cricketer from Punjab. Angad Bawa’s father, Sukhwinder, is a well-known coach in Chandigarh.
On the contrary to this, the team’s core is formed by first-generation cricketers, for example, captain Yash Dhull whose family was never serious about sports. However, with the constant support of his late grandfather, an army man, Dhull could make it to the U-19 Indian cricket team.
Siddharth’s father, Shravan Yadav’s cricketing skills are limited to once bowling. But his passion for the game is limitless, inherited by his son. According to the Indian Express, Siddharth’s father, Shravan Yadav, said that when he (Siddharth) was young, his father’s dream was to see him playing cricket one day.
He also said that when he held the bat for the first time, he stood left-handed, which became his stance. He has been a left-handed batsman ever since.
The top-order batsman is now a part of the India under-19 squad for the upcoming Asia Cup, followed by the World Cup in January.
