New Delhi, Jan 15 (IANS) The International Cricket Council (ICC) chair Jay Shah extended his best wishes to the U19 stars for kickstarting their World Cup campaign in Zimbabwe and Namibia.

The 16th edition of the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup begin on Thursday with the match between India and the United States on at Bulawayo.

“Wishing all the teams and players best of luck in the ICC Under-19 Men’s Cricket World Cup starting on January 15 across host countries Zimbabwe and Namibia.

“Our youth events have long been the pathway for some of cricket’s biggest stars, and am sure that will be the case again,” the ICC chief shared on X.

Led by Ayush Mhatre, India have been placed in Group B alongside New Zealand, USA, and Bangladesh. Talented batting all-rounder Vihaan Malhotra will serve as Mhatre’s deputy at the tournament.

Australia are the defending champions having won the 2024 edition with a victory over India in the final and have won the title four times, just behind India who have lifted the trophy on five occasions.

Pakistan are the only other team with multiple titles to their name with successive victories in 2004 and 2006 with West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh and England to have claimed one triumph each.

The tournament is set to be played across five venues in Zimbabwe and Namibia with the former hosting 25 matches including the semi-final and final, and Namibia hosting 16 games.

All matches in Namibia will be held in Windhoek at the two venues, the Namibia Cricket Ground and High Performance Oval next to each other. In Zimbabwe, the matches will be held in two cities: Harare and Bulawayo. The Queens Sports Club will be the solitary venue in Bulawayo with Harare Sports Club and Takashinga Sports Club being the two venues in the Zimbabwean capital.

The Queens Sports Club and the Harare Sports Club will host the two semi-finals on February 3 and 4 with the Harare Sports Club playing host to the final on February 6.

–IANS

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