India Names Ayush Mhatre Captain for U-19 World Cup 2026

The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced on Saturday that Ayush Mhatre, a promising batsman from Mumbai, will captain the 15-member Indian squad for the ICC Men's Under-19 Cricket World Cup, set to take place in Zimbabwe and Namibia from January 15 to February 6, 2026.

Mhatre, who has impressed in domestic T20 cricket with 565 runs in 13 matches at an average of 56.50 and a strike rate of 175.46, joins a lineage of notable leaders in the tournament. India, the most successful team with five titles in 2000, 2008, 2012, 2018, and 2022, enters the event aiming for a record sixth victory. The squad includes vice-captain Vihaan Malhotra, a wicketkeeper-batsman recently acquired by Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL 2026 auction, along with other young talents such as Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Aaron George, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu, Harvansh Singh, R.S. Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D. Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, and Udhav Mohan.

However, Mhatre and Malhotra will miss India's preparatory three-match One-Day International series against South Africa due to wrist injuries sustained recently. The Board of Control for Cricket in...