By IANS
Dubai : Last time’s losing finalists India are expected to face tough challenge from West Indies and South Africa, if not greenhorns Papua New Guinea (PNG) in Group B of the under-19 World Cup, beginning in Malaysia Feb 17.
India, who won the World Cup in 2000 under Mohammed Kaif’s captaincy, will fight for one of two places advancing to Super League from the pool. India, captained by Virat Kolhli and coached by Dav Whatmore, play against PNG first at the Kinrara Cricket Academy (KCA) ground.
In-form Kohli is also the leading batsman of the side as he has scored heavily in domestic tournaments. He averaged 72.67 for Delhi in the Cooch-Behar Trophy, India’s premier under-19 tournament.
Shreevats Goswami is another batsman to look out for. He showed excellent form with the bat in the triangular series in South Africa recently, also involving Bangladesh.
Others prominent India players are left-handed batsman Tanmay Srivastava, who was impressive in Uttar Pradesh’s Ranji Trophy national championship campaign, and promising left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla.
Up against India will be the West Indies, who lost to Pakistan in the final in 2004. Much responsibility will rest on the shoulders of captain Sharmarh Brooks, a first-class cricketer who participated in the 2006 edition and is regarded as a competitive all-rounder.
Adrian Barath is the best under-19 batsman in the Caribbean at present, along with Devon Thomas and Darren Bravo, the younger brother of senior international Dwayne.
The crunch game of this group is likely to be between India and South Africa at KCA. This will be one of the 10 matches to be telecast live by ESPN-STAR Sports.
South Africa’s junior team had a disappointing 2006 World Cup during which they lost to Nepal in the final of the Plate Championship of the tournament in Colombo. But now the team boasts of a number of key players, who are capable of swinging a match their way.
Skipper Wayne Parnell is an all-rounder with strong leadership qualities and he has plenty of experience having played in the 2006 event.
The team will also be relying on batsmen Reeza Hendricks, Pieter Malan, Jon-Jon Smuts, Rilee Rossouw and Jonathan Vandiar, who bowls leg-spin too.
PNG have qualified from the East Asia-Pacific Region, and although there is plenty of cricketing talent in the team it will be a huge task for the side to make it through to the Super League. They will rely heavily on captain Colin Amini, who is useful both with his bat and with off-spin.
Group B (based in Kuala Lumpur)
India (2nd seeds)
West Indies (7th seeds)
South Africa (10th seeds)
PNG (15th seeds)
Group B schedule:
Feb 17: India v PNG, Kinrara Cricket Academy (KCA)
Feb 18: West Indies v South Africa, KCA
Feb 19: India v South Africa, KCA
Feb 20: India v West Indies, KCA
Feb 21: South Africa v PNG, KCA
Feb 22: India v West Indies, KCA
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Abhinav Mukund, Ajitesh Argal, Shreevats Goswami, Tanmay Srivastava, Manish Pandey, Taruwar Kohli, Ravindra Jadeja, Saurabh Tiwary, Duvvarapu Siva Kumar, Pradeep Sanghwan, Siddharth Kaul, Einstein Napoleon, Perry Goyal, Sayyed Abudllah Iqbal
West Indies: Shamarh Brooks (captain), Devon Thomas, Kieran Powell, Dawnley Grant, Delorn Johnson, Steven Jacobs, Veerasammy Permaul, Andre Creary, Horace Miller, Jason Dawes, Nkrumah Bonner, Shacoya Thomas, Darren Bravo, Adrian Barath, Kyle Corbin
South Africa: Wayne Parnell (captain), Roy Adams, Matthew Arnold, Clayton August, Bradley Barnes, Daniel Childs, Sybrand Engelbrecht, Reeza Hendricks, Pieter Malan, Mangaliso Mosehle, Abraham Pienaar, Rilee Rossouw, Jon Jon Smuts, Yaseen Vallie, Jonathan Vandiar
Papua New Guinea: Colin Amini (captain), Tony Ura, Heni Siaka, Tanti Heni, Alfred Amini, Jonathan Diho, John Reva, Joel Tom, Jason Kila, Loa Nou, Jacob Mado, Willie Gavera, Charles Amini, Arua Dikana, Archie Vala