Photo Credit: USA Cricket
- Men’s Under 19’s to attend Training Camp in Houston from July 23rd – July 29th
- Final preparation for the USA Men’s Under 19s to prepare for ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier later in the year
USA Cricket today confirmed that it will hold a Men’s U19 Training Camp in Houston from Friday July 23rd until Thursday July 29th at the Prairie View Cricket Complex. This follows the Selection Camp held in the Bay Area last month, where the Men’s U19 Selection Panel selected the U19 Men’s Squad of 14 (with 4 reserve players) for the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier currently scheduled for later this year. The 18 selected players have all been invited to attend this camp.
The Training Camp will include two 50-over matches against teams chosen from the local Minor League Cricket franchises, the Houston Hurricanes and the Austin Athletics. This again highlights the benefits of the partnership between USA Cricket and Major League Cricket, and comes on top of the significant combined financial and coaching resources already invested in this USA Cricket U19 group by Major League Cricket.
The coaches and support staff in attendance at the camp will also put the players through physical assessment, individual skill development, and match scenario sessions across the seven days of the Camp, all aimed at ensuring this group is the best prepared USA Men’s U19 Team in the last decade. The last time USA qualified for the ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup was more than a decade ago, back in 2010.
An additional bonus for the U19 program is the appointment of the MLC Player Development Manager, and former South African first-class cricketer, David White as Batting Coach for the USA Cricket Under 19 Men’s group. David has a world of experience in the game and a solid relationship with the players having already been with them through off-season programs and two previous camps in 2021. As a batting coach he will complement Head Coach, Kevin Darlington and work closely under his leadership.
The development of the group is highlighted by four players, Ali Sheikh, Ritwik Behera, Saiteja Mukkamala, and Sanjay Krishnamurthi, already being included in the recent Men’s Team Camp in Los Angeles, and in the frame for selection to higher honors. That exposure to the senior environment and coaches should bode them well as they head into this all-important U19 phase.
The International Cricket Council has been working closely with all of the countries who are likely to participate in the ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Americas Qualifier to ensure that it proceeds and we expect further news on this very soon. The top team in the Americas region will progress to the ICC U19 CWC to be held in the West Indies in early 2022.
Chair of the USA Cricket Committee, Sushil Nadkarni, said, “Congratulations to the players, their families, coaches and others involved in developing them to selection for the USA Men’s U19 team. COVID continues to present a number of challenges and we’ve done particularly well to get our U19 Team together a number of times already this year. Our USA staff have worked closely with MLC to create these opportunities. Once again, my thanks go to MLC for their ongoing funding of those opportunities. The conditions at Prairie View will allow our U19 players to continue to develop while playing strong opposition, bond with each other, and form a working relationship with the coach. This team has the backing of the entire USA Cricket Community and I wish them the very best as they prepare for the world cup qualifiers in September”
USA Cricket Operations Director, Richard Done, said, “Once again, I have to praise our administrative, coaching and support staff for their dedication to getting these camps and competitions that are being put together with short notice in the challenging environment provided by both COVID and the uncertainty of the timing and location of various events. We hope that this pays off in the long run for both our Men’s and now our Men’s U19 team. The competitive matches against the Minor League teams will demand our players put into action what they have practiced in order to be successful. The players are getting the benefit of an excellent coaching and support group around them, with David White now joining Men’s U19 Head Coach, Kevin Darlington.”
Meanwhile, USA Cricket has also received a large number of applications for the role of Men’s U19 Team Manager and expect to make an announcement as soon as possible.
| USA U19 Team | Zone |
| Abhiram Bolisetty | South Zone |
| Abhiram Valisammagari | South West Zone |
| Ali Sheikh | South West Zone |
| Hisham Ali | Colts |
| Ishan Sharma | Mid-Atlantic Zone |
| Rehman Dar | South West Zone |
| Ritwik Behera | Mid-Atlantic Zone |
| Rohan Phadke | South Zone |
| Rohan Posanipally | West Zone Reds |
| Saiteja Mukkamalla | Mid-Atlantic Zone |
| Sanjay Krishnamurthy | West Zone Reds |
| Skanda Rohit Sharma | West Zone Reds |
| Slade-Lee Van Staden | Colts |
| Yasir Mohammad | Mid-Atlantic Zone |
| Reserves | |
| Ajay Immadi | West Zone Reds |
| Mihir Cherukupalli | South West Zone |
| Rahul Jariwala | West Zone Reds |
| Tejas Vishal | Midwest Zone |
Name of Author: USA Cricket
USA Cricket (USAC) is the governing body for cricket in the United States, overseeing the national men’s, women’s, and youth teams. It also manages Major League Cricket, the premier domestic Twenty20 competition in the U.S.
