Niki Prasad named captain to lead India in U19 Women's Asia Cup

India have picked G Trisha and Shabnam Shakil in their women’s U19 Asia Cup squad, which will be played in Malaysia later this month. Both players, Trisha a top-order batter and a leg-break bowler and Shakil a right-arm seamer, also featured in India’s victorious U19 World Cup campaign in January 2023.

There are a number of players from that 2023 squad who are likely to get picked for the next women’s U19 World Cup — to be held in Malaysia in February 2025. 

Hence, there are different rules regarding the participation of men’s and women’s U19 players to feature in the World Cup. When Rahul Dravid took over India’s A and U19 teams as head coach, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) ruled out eligible players to participate in more than one edition of the tournament. The same ruling isn’t applicable for women’s players to grant them more game time in different conditions and match situations. 

Niki Prasad will lead this team for the U19 Asia Cup. A lower-order batter for the Karnataka Women's team, Prasad led the India B team to the title in a tri-series involving India A and South Africa U 19 team. 

The tournament is an eight-day event and is scheduled from December 15 to December 22. India are placed in Group A alongside Nepal and Pakistan. India will start their campaign against Pakistan on December 15. Group B has Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and hosts Malaysia. 

India squad for U19 Asia Cup: Niki Prasad (c), Sanika Chalke (vc), G Trisha, Kamalini G (wk), Bhavika Ahire (wk), Ishawari Awasare, Mithila Vinod, Joshitha VJ, Sonam Yadav, Parunika Sisodiya, Kesari Drithi, Aayushi Shukla, Anandita Kishor, MD Shabnam, Nandhana S

Stand-by: Hurley Gala, Happy Kumari, G Kavya Sree, Gayatri Survase

(Cover image credits: nikiprasad19 on Instagram)

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