Glasgow (Scotland), Dec 10 (IANS) Thomas Knight has been appointed as Scotland’s captain for the 2026 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s Under-19 World Cup, to be held in Namibia and Zimbabwe from January 15 to February 6. In a statement, Cricket Scotland said that following the ICC Europe Qualifier in August, Shlok Thaker and Shreyas Tekale have been added to the squad for the biannual showpiece event.
“It’s exciting to welcome Shlok and Shreyas into the squad, and we’re really happy to see the work they’ve put in to get to this stage,” said head coach Keegan Russell.
“Shlok was with us as part of the wider training squad and unfortunately missed out on a place at the Qualifier. He’s gone away and taken on board the feedback, put a huge amount into his training, and come back fitter and stronger and is now bowling the best that we’ve seen him.”
“It’s really pleasing to see that approach he’s taken, responding to what could be seen as a setback, and he’s come back stronger for it. Shreyas had a great tour in Ireland with the U17 squad at the Celtic Cup and proved a real handful on the wickets over there,” he said.
“He’s had a tough journey in terms of the teams he’s had to graft to get into, and as someone who wasn’t in our wider squad at the start of the year, he’s come on a great deal and turned heads with some of his performances, so he deserves his selection.”
Scotland’s squad will fly to South Africa on December 30 for a training camp at Potchefstroom, before heading to Zimbabwe for playing warm-up games against India in Bulawayo and Bangladesh in Harare.
The tournament begins for Scotland on January 15 when they take on hosts Zimbabwe in Harare, followed by Group B matches against Pakistan and England on January 19 and 21, respectively.
“It’s an exciting time for everyone, but it’s been challenging as well. It’s important to remember that we are looking after a group of teenage boys who are training like professionals ahead of this World Cup, so it’s been brilliant to see their excitement, and it’s been a long time coming for them,” he added.
“We see this tournament as a chance to go out and turn a few heads, and hopefully topple some bigger teams as well, but it’s also a chance to learn and develop against some of the best players in the world on the international stage,” added Russell.
Scotland squad: Thomas Knight, Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Ali Khan, Olly Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Shlok Thaker, Shreyas Tekale, and Jake Woodhouse
–IANS
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