The addition of a Super Six stage and the relocation of the event from Sri Lanka to South Africa add to the interest as India seeks back-to-back titles.
The 15th edition of the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup, which begins on January 19 in South Africa, will focus on discovering future stars just a few weeks after the new year.
South Africa will host the age-group global event for the second year in a row, after India’s Shafali Verma-led team won the first U19 event for women, which was contested in the T20 format.The men’s 50-over tournament, which will feature 16 nations, will last 24 days and feature 41 matches spread over five locations in South Africa. India, the reigning ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup holders Australia, and New Zealand, who will be making a comeback after missing out on the most recent edition in the West Indies in 2022, will be among the contenders. A new format will also be implemented for the competition.headed by Yash Dhull India won the previous tournament in the West Indies in 2022 and is in Group A with Bangladesh, Ireland, and the United States. England, South Africa, the West Indies, and Scotland are in Group B. Australia, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will be in Group C, while Afghanistan, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Nepal will be in Group D.
The event in South Africa, which was previously scheduled for Sri Lanka, will vary from the Plate and Super League formats that have been used in previous editions of the tournament.
The competition will include the same number of teams (16) as in 2022, divided into four groups of four sides as in the previous season. However, things become more intriguing from here. After the first stage, up to 12 teams will be in contention for the grand prize, up from eight in the previous edition.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the next round. The top teams from groups A and D will be combined in what is known as the Super Six stage, as will the top three teams from groups B and C.They will carry over their points and net run rate against other Super Six qualifying teams from their groups.Each side will have two encounters here. These will be against teams from the same group that finished in different group stage positions. For example, the top team in Group A (A1) will face the second and third teams in Group D (D2 and D3).The top two teams from each of these groups will then advance to the knockout phases, which will include semi-finals and the final on February 11 in Benoni.Dhull’s India had an undefeated run in the 2022 tournament, with Ravi Kumar and Raj Bawa fending off a spirited England performance in the final to help the team to another title.
