CHENNAI: With less than two months to go for the second edition of the Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup, India is set to play a tri-series featuring India A, B and South Africa early next month (December) in Pune. The official announcement and squads are expected to come over the next few days.
Having won the inaugural edition in 2023, the defending champions are looking to put a strong squad for the 2025 U19 T20 WC to be played in Malaysia. They started the domestic season with the U19 T20 Trophy, which was won by Tamil Nadu, and followed it up with the Challengers tournament in which the top players from the country took part.
Now, they are set to play a tri-series with top players split into India A and B and South Africa U19 team being the third team. Before the global event, India, along with five other teams, will participate in the first Women's Under-19 T20 Asia Cup in Malaysia.
In 2022, India U19 Women played a quadrangular series featuring Sri Lanka and West Indies, a bilateral series against the New Zealand development squad, and six T20s against South Africa in South Africa before the World Cup. There, India, led by Shafali Verma and coached by former India cricketer Nooshin Al Khadeer, beat England to win the first global title for the women's team.
No limits on U19 WC appearance for time being
When Rahul Dravid was the coach of the U19 men's team, the BCCI brought in a policy of limiting players to one appearance in the Under-19 World Cup. This policy was brought in largely to address age-fraud-related issues. It has been in place since 2016 for the men's team.
However, it is understood that the rule will not be applied for the women's team, at least for the time being. This means, players like G Trisha, Shabnam MD, Parshavi Chopra, and others who took part in the 2023 edition and are still eligible based on playing conditions could be selected if need be. As things stand, the squad is still shaping up and the picture will be much clearer after the tri-series in Pune.