Tremendous competition was seen in the Under-19 Asia Cup Pakistan defeated India in the finalThe focus now turns to the global stage as the ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup 2026 begins this Thursday (January 15). The prestigious junior tournament will be jointly hosted by Zimbabwe and Namibia, which will be a big moment for youth cricket in Southern Africa.
U19 World Cup 2026: Tournament format
Sixteen teams will compete over a three-week period for the coveted Under-19 World title. The competition follows a familiar and competitive structure, with teams divided into groups of four each. The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six stage, where the showdown will proceed to determine the semi-finals. From there, the top two teams advance to the semi-finals, and end up in the final to become world champions.
U19 World Cup 2026: groups
The tournament’s groups include a mix of traditional powerhouses and emerging cricket nations. Group A includes Australia, Ireland, Japan and Sri Lanka, while Group B includes Bangladesh. IndiaNew Zealand and the United States fight for supremacy. England and Pakistan top Group C along with Scotland and hosts Zimbabwe. Group D comprises Afghanistan, South Africa, Tanzania and West Indies, which promise competitive contests at various venues.
U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup 2026: Teams
Group A
Australia: Oliver Peak (captain), Casey Barton, Naden Coore, Jayden Draper, Ben Gordon, Steven Hogan, Thomas Hogan, John James, Charles Latchmund, Will Malazczuk, Nitish Samuel, Hayden Schiller, Aryan Sharma, William Byrom, Alex Lee Young
Ireland: Ollie Riley (captain), Ruben Wilson, Alex Armstrong, Callum Armstrong, Marco Bates, Sebastian Dijkstra, Thomas Ford, Samuel Haslett, Adam Lecky, Fabin Manoj, Luke Murray, Robert O’Brien, Freddy Ogilby, James West, Bruce Whaley. Reserves: Peter Le Roux, William Shields
Japan: Kazuma Kato-Stafford (captain), Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Casey Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pole, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aryan Waduge, Kai Wall, Taylor Waugh
Sri Lanka: Vimath Dinsara (captain), Kavija Gamage, Dimantha Mahavithana, Veeran Chamuditha, Dulanith Sigera, Chamika Hentigaala, Adam Hilmi, Chamarindu Nethsara, Sethmika Seneviratne, Kugathas Mathulan, Rasith Nimsara, Wigneswaran Akash, Jeevantha Sriram, Senuja Vekunagoda, Malintha Silva.
group b
Bangladesh: Azizul Hakeem Tamim (captain), Jawad Abrar, Samiun Baseer Ratul, Sheikh Parvez Jibon, Rizan Hossan, Shahriya Al Amin, Shadin Islam, MD Abdullah, Farid Hasan Faisal, Kalam Siddiqui Alin, Rifat Baig, Saad Islam Razin, Al Fahad, Shahryar Ahmed, Iqbal Hussain. Reserves: Abdur Rahim, Debashish Sarkar Deba, Rafi Uzzaman Rafi, Farhan Shahriar, Farzan Ahmed Alif, Sanjeed Majumdar, MD Sobuj.
India: Ayush Mhatre (captain), RS Ambareesh, Kanishk Chauhan, D. Deepesh, Mohammad Anan, Aaron George, Abhigyan Kundu, Kishan Kumar Singh, Vihaan Malhotra, Udhav Mohan, Henil Patel, Khilan A. Patel, Harvansh Singh, Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi
New Zealand: Tom Jones (captain), Marco Alpay, Hugo Bogg, Harry Burns, Mason Clarke, Jacob Cotter, Aryan Mann, Brandon Matzopoulos, Flynn More, Sneith Reddy, Callum Samson, Jaskaran Sandhu, Selwyn Sanjay, Hunter Shore, Luke Harrison
USA: Utkarsh Srivastava (captain), Adneet Jhamb, Shiv Shani, Nitish Sudini, Advait Krishna, Sahir Bhatia, Arjun Mahesh, Amrinder Gill, Sabreesh Prasad, Adit Kappa, Sahil Garg, Amogh Reddy Arepalli, Ritwik Appidi, Ryan Taj, Rishabh Shimpi.
group c
England: Thomas Reeve (captain), Farhan Ahmed, Ralphie Albert, Will Bennison, Ben Dawkins, Caleb Faulkner, Ali Farooq, Alex French, Alex Green, Luke Hands, Manny Lumsden, Ben Mayes, James Minto, Joe Moores, Sebastian Morgan.
Pakistan: Farhan Yousuf (captain), Usman Khan, Abdul Subhan, Ahmed Hussain, Ali Hasan Baloch, Ali Raza, Daniyal Ali Khan, Hamza Zahoor, Huzaifa Ahsan, Momin Qamar, Mohammad Sayyam, Mohammad Shayan, Naqab Shafiq, Sameer Minhas, Umar Zaib. Reserves: Abdul Qadir, Farhanullah, Hasan Khan, Ibtisam Azhar, Mohammad Huzaifa.
Scotland: Thomas Knight (captain), Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Ollie Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Ram Sharma, Shreyas Tekale, Shlok Thakar, Jake Woodhouse.
Zimbabwe: Simbarashe Mudzengerere (captain), Kian Blignaut, Michael Blignaut, Leroy Chiwaula, Tatenda Chimugoro, Brendan Senjere, Nathaniel Hlabangana, Takudzwa Makoni, Panashe Mazai, Webster Madhidhi, Shelton Mazwitorera, Kupakwashe Muradzi, Brandon Ndiweni, Dhruv Patel, Benny Nzuze.
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group d
Afghanistan: Mehboob Khan (captain), Khalid Ahmedzai, Usman Sadat, Faisal Khan, Uzairullah Niazai, Aziz Miyan Khil, Nazif Amiri, Khatir Stanikzai, Nuristani, Abdul Aziz, Salam Khan, Wahid Zadran, Zaitullah Shaheen, Rohullah Arab, Hafeez Zadran. Reserve: Aqeel Khan, Faheem Qasemi, Izzat Noor
South Africa: Mohammed Bulbulia (captain), JJ Basson, Daniel Bosman, Corne Botha, Paul James, Anathy Khitsini, Michael Kruiskamp, Adnan Lagadian, Bayanda Majola, Armaan Manack, Bandile Mbatha, Lethabo Phahlamohlaka, Jason Rowles, Ntandhoyenkosi Soni, Zorich van Schalkwyk.
Tanzania: Lax Bakrania (captain), Karim Kisetto, Hamza Ally, Khalidi Amiri, Abdul Azak Mohammadi, Ayaan Sharif, Omari Ramdhani, Dylan Thakrar, Agostino Mwamele, Eli Hafidi, Acre Pascal (wk), Darpan Jobanputra, Mohammadi Simba, Raymond Francis, Alfred Daniels
West Indies: Joshua Dorn (captain), Jewel Andrew, Shamar Apple, Shaquan Belle, Zachary Carter, Tanez Francis, Rajai Gittens, Vitale Laws, Micah McKenzie, Matthew Miller, Isra-El Morton, Jakeem Pollard, Adian Racha, Krunal Tilakoni, Jonathan Van Lang. Reserves: Brandon Boodoo, Tyreek Bryan, Ersinho Fontaine, DeShawn James
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