India firm favourites against Lanka

Bloemfontein, January 18

Defending champions India, with five new IPL recruits in their ranks, will be the overwhelming favourites when they start their campaign against Sri Lanka in their ICC U-19 World Cup.

India have time and again showed at the junior level that a gulf exists between them and the other teams — they’ve won two titles and twice ended up runners-up in the last four editions of the tournament.

Even in the run-up to the ongoing edition, India have won a bilateral series against South Africa, followed by a Quadrangular contest. The colts also beat Afghanistan comprehensively in their warm-up game. Later, the same Afghanistan team hammered South Africa in their World Cup opener.

India’s campaign will be headlined by left-handed opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, who recently landed a Rs 2.4 crore contract with IPL franchise Rajasthan Royals. Skipper Priyam Garg is the most experienced player with 12 First-Class and 19 List A games to his credit. The tall fast bowler Kartik Tyagi has the ability to work up good pace.

Recently, Sri Lanka lost to India in the junior Asia Cup. — PTI