CHENNAI: India will take on hosts South Africa in their opening game of the inaugural edition of the Women’s U-19 World Cup on January 14, 2023 in Benoni. Played in the T20 format, the 16 teams that have qualified are divided into four groups with the top three teams from each group qualifying for the Super 6s. The Super 6s in itself will take place in two groups and the top two teams from the respective pool will progress to the semifinals. The final of the event is all set to take place in Potchefstroom — the other host city for the tournament — on January 30.
India are in Group D with South Africa, Scotland and the United Arab Emirates. Making their debut in a main event of an ICC World Cup would be Indonesia and Rwanda. While Indonesia beat Papua New Guinea in the EAP qualifier, Rwanda trumped Tanzania earlier this week to make it to the World Cup.
While the ICC has confirmed to this daily that there are no restrictions on players who have made their senior debut for their respective countries to take part so long as they clear the basic age and nationality criteria, it seems unlikely that both India internationals Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh would play in the tournament despite being eligible. The former recently confirmed that she would not be playing in the U19 event. It could be because of the fact that the Women’s T20 World Cup begins just about a fortnight after the U19 event in South Africa which will be hosted by Gqeberha, Cape Town and Paarl.
The BCCI, in August, had a month-long camp at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru with 25 U19 players selected from the zonal camps. Moreover, in the domestic circuit, the selectors are likely to keep an eye on the U19 Women’s T20 tournament that begins on October 1, followed by the U19 T20 Challengers in November. The performances in those tournaments could be vital for players to make it to the final squad.
India’s fixtures: 14 Jan 2023 vs SA; 16 Jan 2023 vs UAE; 18 Jan 2023 vs SCO