The ICC U19 World Cup 2026 will get underway on January 15 with three matches scheduled to take place on the opening day. India U19 will face the USA in the first match as Ayush Mhatre will lead the Indian team and Vaibhav Suryavanshi will also be in action.
The ICC U19 World Cup 2026 will get underway on January 15 (Thursday) as a total of three matches will take place on the opening day. The first match is scheduled to take place between India and the USA, while the other two matches will see Zimbabwe and West Indies locking horns against Scotland and Tanzania, respectively.
Ayush Mhatre will lead India, even as the focus will be on Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who has hogged all the limelight with his explosive batting over the last 12 months in different formats at the age-group and senior level cricket. He and Mhatre already have the experience of playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and can light up the tournament with their batting.
Moreover, India are coming into this tournament on the back of a 3-0 win over South Africa away from home. However, Mhatre missed the series due to injury but has recovered in time for the competition and will be keen on leading from the front.
As for the USA, even their squad is filled with the Indian born players and will be led by Utkarsh Srivastava. India are overwhelming favourites with this being the One-Day format but Mhatre and his men will be cautious of not taking them lightly.
Where to watch U19 World Cup 2026 matches live on TV and streaming in India?
The U19 World Cup 2026 matches will be telecast live on Star Sports Network, while the live streaming will be available on JioHotstar. All India’s matches will definitely be telecast live on TV and all the other matches will be available to stream online. Only a few other select matches could be telecast on TV as there are three games on the same day.
Squads:
India U19 Squad: Ayush Mhatre(c), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vihaan Malhotra, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu(w), Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan Patel, Deepesh Devendran, Kishan Kumar Singh, Henil Patel, Udhav Mohan, RS Ambrish, Mohamed Enaan, Harvansh Pangalia
United States of America U19 Squad: Amrinder Gill, Sahil Garg, Arjun Mahesh(w), Utkarsh Srivastava(c), Adnit Jhamb, Amogh Arepally, Nitish Sudini, Shiv Shani, Adit Kappa, Sahir Bhatia, Rayaan Taj, Advaith Krishna, Sabrish Prasad, Ritvik Appidi, Rishabh Shimpi