The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Friday appointed Saad Baig as captain of the Pakistan U 19 team to take part in the 50 over tri-series and ACC U19 Asia Cup 2024 in the UAE from 13 November to 8 December.
Saad Baig, who led the Pakistan U19 team in the last edition of the ACC U19 Asia Cup and ICC U19 World Cup 2024, will lear the 15-player squad which will be trimmed to 14 for the Asia Cup beginning 29 November.
Six players including Saad, Ali Raza, Haroon Arshad, Mohammad Riazullah, Naveed Ahmed Khan, and Shahzaib Khan represented Pakistan at the ICC U19 World Cup 2024 in South Africa while Tayyab Arif is the other player to have played for the Pakistan U19.
Pakistan U19 squad for UAE tour: Saad Baig (captain, wicket-keeper) (Karachi), Abdul Subhan (Abbottabad), Ali Raza (Sialkot), Faham-ul-Haq (Lahore), Farhan Yousuf (Lahore), Haroon Arshad (Karachi), Hassan Khan (Rawalpindi), Mohammad Ahmed (Lahore), Mohammad Huzaifa* (Bahawalpur), Mohammad Riazullah (Abbottabad), Naveed Ahmed Khan (Karachi), Shahzaib Khan (Abbottabad), Tayyab Arif (Sialkot), Umar Zaib (Abbottabad) and Usman Khan (FATA)
*Mohammad Huzaifa only part of the squad for the tri-series.
Non-travelling reserves: Ahmed Hussain (Peshawar), Mohammad Huzaifa (Bahawalpur), Rizwanullah (Karachi) and Yahya bin Abdul Rehman (Lahore)
Player support staff comprises Ghulam Ali (head coach-cum-manager), Agha Sabir Ali (assistant-cum-fielding coach), Muhammad Aleem Bajwa (physio), Muhammad Talha (analyst), Rehan Riaz (bowling coach), Saboor Ahmed (strength and conditioning coach) and Syed Nazir Ahmed (media and digital manager).
The Men’s National Selection Committee held trials and selection matches to assemble the 15-member squad out of a 120-player contingent recommended by the 16 regions based on the performances in Inter-District U19 tournament and the month-long Regional U19 Academies held in August this year.
Saad Baig-led team will depart for UAE on 9 November from Lahore to feature in 50-over tri-series, where they will take on hosts UAE in the opening match on 13 November. The tournament will be played on a double league format with the final between top two sides slated on 26 November.
In the 50-over U19 Asia Cup, Pakistan U19 are placed in the Group A and will take on India on 30 November in their first match of the tournament before taking on UAE and Japan on 2 and 4 December, respectively at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS). The top two teams from Group A and B will take on each other in the semi-finals on 6 December with the final taking place on 8 December.