Ayush Mhatre named U19 captain for Australia tour of three one-day games, followed by two four-day matches.
Ayush Mhatre to lead India U-19 in multi-format tour of Australia.
India Under-19 will go on a multi-format tour to Australia under the leadership of Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre, starting on September 21 at Brisbane’s Ian Healy Oval. The 17-man team features 14-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, whose explosive batting dominated the 2025 Indian Premier League.
On the tour, India will play five games, starting with three one-day matches on September 21, 24, and 26 at the same location. Two four-day games will follow, the first taking place at Ian Healy Stadium on September 30 and the second in Mackay on October 7.
The players absent include Mohammed Enaan, Pranav Raghavendra, Yudhajit Guha (one of the standbys), and Maulyarajsinh Chavda from the U-19 team that just travelled to England for a similar multi-format series. Aman Chauhan, Udhav Mohan, Khilan Patel, and Vedant Trivedi enter.
Khilan has healed and is part of the 17-man team after missing the England tour because of a stress reaction in his right leg. The vice-captaincy for the Australia trip has been awarded to top-order Punjab batsman Malhotra, who performed admirably in both the 50-over and four-day portions of the England tour.
In the England youth Tests, a high-scoring series that ended 0-0 with both matches significantly shortened by rain, Mhatre was the top scorer with 340 runs in four innings. With Suryavanshi leading the run charts with 355 runs in five innings, India had previously won the one-day series 3-2. Fast bowler R S Ambrish made an impression with six wickets in the youth Tests, while offspinner Kanishk Chouhan led India’s wickets column in the one-day series.
Offspinner Anmoljeet Singh and wicketkeeper-batter Harvansh Singh Pangalia are also included in the squad, and D Deepesh and Naman Pushpak are still there. Laxman, B K Kishore, Alankrith Rapole, and Arnav Bugga are the backup players in addition to Guha.
India earlier swept the Australia U-19 side in both the one-day and four-day series in India in September-October last year.