The ICC U-19 Cricket World Cup is almost one and a half month left from beginning. Today, ICC announced the schedule of the World Cup.
48 matches will be played from 27th January to 14th February in Bangladesh. Chittagong, Cox’s Bazar, Dhaka and Sylhet will share these matches. Bangladesh is going to host this tournament for the 2nd time. Bangladesh hosted the tournament in 2004 also.
16 teams will take participate in the 2016 U-19 World Cup. The teams are: Bangladesh (host), South Africa (defending champion), India, Australia, New Zealand, England, Pakistan, West Indies, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe along with six associate and affiliate nations (Nepal, Afghanistan, Namibia, Canada, Fiji and Scotland). The teams are divided into four groups and four teams are in each group.
South Africa are the defending champion as they won the tournament on 2014.
ICC General Manager-Cricket Geoff Allardice said about the U-19 Cricket World Cup, “The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup an event which provides talented youngsters an early taste of international cricket in a global setting. Countless players have come through this event, and emerged shortly afterwards on to the international arena. It is at this tournament that the players also receive important education on topics such anti-doping and anti-corruption, which provides them a head start on the challenges that lie ahead for professional sportsmen. Bangladesh has staged a number of ICC events in the past and all these have been hugely successful because of the passionate and enthusiastic crowds as well as high quality playing facilities.”
Bangladesh player Mushfiqur Rahim remembered his time and said, “I played in the 2006 event and it prepared me for the international stage. So, when I went to the ICC Cricket World Cup 2007 the following year, I had a fairly good idea of what to expect. The ICC U19 Cricket World Cup is like a dress rehearsal for the senior level. It is the first stepping stone for every international cricketer. You can actually get a reasonable picture of the future. The genuine articles, the ones that are going to proceed to the next level and beyond can be identified here if you take a good look.”
The four groups of 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup is given below:
|
Group A |
Group B | Group C | Group D |
| Bangladesh | Pakistan | England | Australia |
| South Africa | Sri Lanka | West Indies | India |
| Scotland | Afghanistan | Zimbabwe | New Zealand |
| Namibia | Canada | Fiji | Nepal |
Full schedule of 2016 U-19 Cricket World Cup is given below
