Lahore:
New stars are ready to shine on the horizon of world cricket, the U-19 World Cup festival will start today, 16 teams will be seen in action in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
According to reports, the U-19 Cricket World Cup starts today, this time it will be played by Zimbabwe and Namibia together, the matches will be played in 50 overs format.
The opening match will be between India and USA at Queen’s Sports Club Bulawayo, Zimbabwe and Scotland at Takashinga Sports Club Harare, while Tanzania and West Indies teams will compete at HP Oval Namibia.
In the group stage, 24 matches will be played over 10 days, the matches in Zimbabwe will be played at Queen’s Sports Club, Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Sports Club.
Windhoek’s Namibia Cricket Ground and HP Oval in Namibia will host the matches.
After the group stage, the Super Six stage will also be held in both countries, but the semi-finals and final will be played entirely in Zimbabwe.
The semi-finals will be held on February 3 and 4, and the final will be held on February 6 in Harare.
Defending champion Australia will enter the field determined to win the title once again.
With 16 teams participating in the tournament, apart from the top sides from previous editions, there are also some surprising names, as Tanzania participates in a global cricket event for the first time.
In the African competitions, Tanzania won all 5 matches, defeating the likes of Namibia, Kenya and Nigeria.
Japan won the U-19 World Cup for the second time by winning the East Asia Pacific competition, while Afghanistan, Scotland and the USA also advanced to the finals.
The structure of the World Cup is simple but interesting, there will be four teams in four groups, where each team will play one match against each other, Group A includes Australia, Ireland, Japan and Sri Lanka, B Bangladesh, India, New Zealand and USA.
The mission to win the ICC U-19 World Cup, Sameer Minhas
Pakistan defeated the USA in the warm-up match of the ICC Under-19 Men’s World Cup
All 16 teams have announced their final squads for the 2026 ICC U-19 World Cup.
Group C hosts England, Pakistan, Scotland and Zimbabwe, while Group D consists of Afghanistan, South Africa, Tanzania and West Indies.
The top three teams from each group will advance to the Super Six, where the results of the group stage will continue.
After the Super Six, the top teams will advance to the semifinals, while the last-placed teams in the group stage will play position matches.
In this event, there will be a TV referee position but the DRS will not be used.
Remember that the U-19 World Cup started in 1988, in 1998 it became permanent on a 2-year basis.
India is the most successful team in the competition, having won the cup 5 times, while Australia has become the champion 4 times. Pakistan won this honor twice in 2004 and 2006.
In the past, this event has seen great players such as Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Steven Smith, Kane Williamson, Rohit Sharma, Sarfraz Ahmed, Joe Root and David Warner enter the world stage.
Many young players are also in the limelight in the 2026 edition. 14-year-old opener Vibhu Suryavanshi has been hailed as the biggest name in junior cricket, having surprised the world with a record-breaking innings at a young age.
Pakistan opener Samir Minhas scored 172 against India and 177 against Malaysia in the U-19 Asia Cup.
Australian captain Oliver Peck will once again lead the team, he already has valuable experience in Under-19 Trophy, BBL and domestic cricket.
Pakistani fast bowler Ali Raza is also seen as a future star, having shown impressive performances in PSL and Asia Cup due to his pace.
Japanese spin bowler Charlie Harahanze will enter the field hoping to give the team their first win.
