The 19-year-old Niki Prasad will lead nearly the same squad that won the recent Under-19 Asia for India Women at next month’s U-19 World Cup in Malaysia. The only change in the 15-member squad is the inclusion of Vaishnavi S in place of 15-year-old medium pacer Nandhana S, who has been named among the stand-by.
The other standby players of India are Ira J and Anadi T., who have replaced the other players, Hurley Gala, Happy Kumari, G Kavya Sree, and Gayatri Survase from the standby list for the Asia Cup. The under-19 women recently lifted the Asia Cup in Kuala Lumpur by beating Bangladesh by 41 runs in the final.
The player of the match of the U-19 Asia Cup final, Gongadi Trisha, had top scored with 52 runs in 47 deliveries while opening the batting department with G Kamalini, who had bagged a contract in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) with the Mumbai Indians (MI) on the same day she scored an unbeaten knock of 44 runs in 29 deliveries against Pakistan in the Asia Cup.
India to start U-19 Women’s World Cup 2025 campaign against West Indies
The other members of the squad to get their first WPL deals were Prasad (Delhi Capitals) and VJ Joshitha (Royal Challengers Bengaluru). The medium pacer for India in the ICC event, Shabnam Shakil, was already with the Gujarat Giants and has also experienced playing four WPL games and a couple of white-ball games for the A-side in Australia in August.
This U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup will be the second for Trisha, Shakil, and Sonam Yadav, who have already been part of the previous edition. Their win at the Asia Cup came after an unbeaten run, except for that washed-out affair against Nepal. They gained victories in the other league games against Pakistan before beating Bangladesh and Sri Lanka in the Super Fours before claiming the final.
The upcoming World Cup will be the second such edition, to be played from January 18 to February 02. All 16 teams have been divided into four groups of four each. India is the defending champions and is in Group A along with Malaysia, West Indies, and Sri Lanka, as they will take part in all of their league games at the Bayuemas Oval in Kuala Lumpur.
The campaign for the Blue Brigade will begin against West Indies on January 19 before they face Malaysia on January 21 and Sri Lanka on January 23. After the league stage, three teams will progress from each group to the Super Sixes, in which there will be two groups of six sides each.
Every team will then carry forward their wins, points, and net run rate, which is secured against the other Super Six qualifiers. The top two teams from each of the groups will then play the semifinals on January 13 before progressing into the final, which will take place on February 02.
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| India’s Group Stage Fixtures In ICC Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025 | ||||
| No. | Date | Time | Match | Venue |
| 01 | Jan 19, 2025 | 12 PM IST | Ind vs WI | Malaysia |
| 02 | Jan 21, 2025 | 12 PM IST | Ind vs Mal | Malaysia |
| 03 | Jan 23, 2025 | 12 PM IST | Ind vs SL | Malaysia |
India Squad For U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2025
Niki Prasad (captain), Sanika Chalke (vice-capt), G Trisha, G Kamalini (wk), Bhavika Ahire (wk), Ishwari Awasare, Mithila Vinod, VJ Joshitha, Sonam Yadav, Parunika Sisodiya, Kesari Drithi, Aayushi Shukla, Anandita Kishor, MD Shabnam, Vaishnavi S.
Standby: Nandhana S, Ira J, Anadi T.