Cricket is a sport that is played by people of all age groups. The youth cricket tournaments are often categorised as Under-19 (U19) events. As per the International Cricket Council, the minimum age for a player to play International cricket is 15 years. In U19 events, there is no limit set for the minimum age.
The U19 cricket World Cup is the premier tournament of the younger age group. It is played in the One Day International format where each team bats once for an innings that can last for a maximum of 50 overs. The host team of the event automatically qualifies for the tournament. Eleven full member countries qualifies by virtue of their ranking positions. The remaining five teams qualify through regional qualifiers. These regional qualifiers are played in the following zones: Asia, Americas, East Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe.
Every country’s board chooses a fifteen-member squad to represent the nation. The sixteen chosen teams are divided into four groups – A, B, C, D. In each group, teams play against each other once. The top three winners of Group A and D are placed together and of Groups B and C are placed together.
In the Super six stage, each team will play against two teams from the other group who finished in a different position. For example, since Groups A and D are grouped together, the team who finished as A2 will play against teams that finished as D1 and D3. The top two teams from each group progresses to the knockout rounds which includes the semifinals and then the final.
India is the most successful team in U19 World Cup, winning five titles till date. Eoin Morgan is the highest run-getter with the bat as an U19 player, hitting 606 runs in the tournament. The most successful U19 bowler is Zimbabwe’s Wesley Madhever, who has taken 28 wickets.