Lakshya Raichandani made 240 against Australia, and he will lead Sehwag’s and Dravid’s sons at the U19 Asia Cup
The BCCI has named India’s 15-man squad for the Under-19 Asia Cup in Oman, where they play Pakistan, last year’s champions, on 8 November.
Oct 30, 2026
Lakshya Raichandani will captain India at the Under-19 Asia Cup in Oman next month. The BCCI named the 15-man squad on Friday, picked by the junior selection committee Parvinder Awana took charge of last week, and it is close to the side that beat Australia’s Under-19s 3-0 in the Youth ODIs in Rajkot last month.
Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan is vice-captain. Aaryavir Sehwag is in the top order, and Anvay Dravid is one of two wicketkeepers, with Rajat Baghel the other.
A captain in form
Raichandani has scored heavily since he got the job. He finished the Youth ODI series with an unbeaten 110 in the third game, a six-wicket chase of 255 that Baghel saw home with 44 not out, and then made 240 in the first Youth Test against the same opponents.
Chauhan has an argument for being India’s best player in this group. His 122 off 100 balls in the second Youth ODI against Australia came with 15 fours, and he had been player of the match in the first game too.
Sehwag and Dravid are here on runs
It is impossible to write about this squad without the two surnames, and it would be unfair to stop at them. Aaryavir, Virender Sehwag’s elder son, captains Delhi’s Under-19 side and made 173 off 143 balls against Chandigarh in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy this month. Anvay, Rahul Dravid’s younger son, captains Karnataka in the same competition and has hundreds against Chandigarh and Gujarat in it. The second of those was 151 off 100 balls to win a big chase.
Neither has much left to prove at state level. Oman is a step up: an eight-team, 50-over tournament against the best under-19 sides in Asia, with only three group games to reach the semi-finals.
Pakistan on 8 November
India are in Group A with Nepal, Pakistan and the UAE, and all three group games are in Muscat. They open against Nepal on Friday, 6 November, play Pakistan on Sunday, 8 November, and finish against the UAE on Tuesday, 10 November. Two teams from each group go through to the semi-finals on 12 November, and the final is on Saturday, 14 November.
The Pakistan game is the one to circle. The last time these two sides met in this tournament was the 2025 final in Dubai, when Sameer Minhas made 172 off 113 balls, Pakistan made 347 for 8, and India were bowled out for 156 in the 27th over. A 191-run defeat gave Pakistan their first outright Under-19 Asia Cup title, and they come to Oman as defending champions. India, with eight titles, are still the most successful side in the competition’s history.
India’s squad: Lakshya Raichandani (captain), Aaryavir Sehwag, VK Vineeth, Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (vice-captain), Kushagra Ojha, Arjun Rajput, Manal Chauhan, Anvay Dravid (wicketkeeper), Rajat Baghel (wicketkeeper), V Yashveer, Aryan Savsani, Mohit Ulva, Kavya Patel, Shavin Vinod, Ishan Sood.