The Men’s U19 World Cup 2024 will kick off with hosts Sri Lanka locking horns with Zimbabwe on Janaury 13. While Defending Champions India will take on Bangladesh in their campaign opening clash on Janaury 14.
The prestigious 41-match tournament will be played across 23 days in five venues, all in Colombo. The R Premadasa International Cricket Stadium will host the Men’s U19 World Cup 2024 campaign opener clash & later the semi-finals on January 30 and February 1, along with the final on February 4. The P Sara Oval, Colombo Cricket Club, Nondescripts Cricket Club, and the Sinhalese Sports Club are the other venues. The top 11 Full Member teams from the 2022 edition of the U19 World Cup have automatically qualified for the marquee event. The five teams Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Scotland, and the USA – have earned their spots through regional qualification events.
Groups for U19 Men’s World Cup 2024
Group A: India, Bangladesh, Ireland, USA.
Group B: England, SA, WI, Scotland.
Group C: Australia, SL, Zimbabwe, Namibia.
Group D: Afghanistan, Pakistan, NZ, Nepal.
Chris Tetley, the Head of Events at the ICC, expressed excitement over the return of the competition to Sri Lanka, marking the first time since 2006. He said that the tournament has previously served as a platform for renowned players such as Virat Kohli, Steve Smith, Kane Williamson, and Angelo Mathews to make their mark on the global cricket stage. And their expectation is that this tradition of showcasing emerging talent will continue as the tournament unfolds.
Samantha Dodanwela, the Tournament Director, acknowledged Sri Lanka’s passionate cricket-loving fanbase and eagerly anticipates providing them with the opportunity to witness the emergence of some of the world’s most promising young cricketers during the 23-day competition.
New ‘Super Six’ Format in ICC Men’s U19 World Cup 2024
The ICC has announced a fresh format for the U19 Tournaments. Under the new format, 16 participating teams will be grouped into four groups of four. Out of these 12 teams will qualify for the second round, instead of eight teams. The Super Six stage will feature two groups of six teams each, with the top four progressing to the semi-finals.
Now you all might be thinking what’s new in the Super Six format? So let us explain to you that earlier in the previous edition of the tournament, the second round of the tournament consisted of the top eight teams marching into the qualifier Super League knock-out stage for the World Cup 2024 title. While the bottom eight teams went into the knockouts for the Plate trophy.
In the upcoming edition of the tournament, each team will play two warm-up fixtures between January 7 to 11 across four venues. Defending champions India are favorites to win this tournament with five titles in their kitty. The second most successful team of the tournament is Australia with three wins in their kitty. Pakistan has won twice and each of England, Bangladesh, South Africa, and West Indies have lifted the crown once.
India will look ahead to continue their winning spree & complete their title defense by winning the ICC men’s U19 World Cup 2024.
Let’s have a look at Complete Men’s U19 World Cup 2024
- January 13: Sri Lanka vs Zimbabwe, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 13: New Zealand vs Nepal, P. Sara Oval.
- January 13: England vs Scotland, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 14: Bangladesh vs India, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 14: Australia vs Namibia, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 14: South Africa vs West Indies, P. Sara Oval.
- January 15: Pakistan vs Afghanistan, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 15: Ireland vs USA, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 16: South Africa vs England, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 16: Sri Lanka vs South Africa, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 17: Nepal vs Pakistan, P. Sara Oval.
- January 17: West Indies vs Scotland, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 17: Namibia vs Zimbabwe, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 18: India vs USA, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 18: Afghanistan vs New Zealand, P. Sara Oval.
- January 18: Bangladesh vs Ireland, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 19: Zimbabwe vs Australia, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 19: England vs West Indies, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 20: India vs Ireland, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 20: Scotland vs South Africa, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 20: Afghanistan vs Nepal, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 21: Pakistan vs New Zealand, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 21: Sri Lanka vs Namibia, P. Sara Oval.
- January 21: USA vs Bangladesh, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 23: A4 vs D4, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 23: B4 vs C4, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 24: A1 vs D2, P. Sara Oval.
- January 24: C2 vs B3, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 24: C1 vs B2, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 25: D3 vs A2, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 25: C3 vs B1, P. Sara Oval.
- January 25: D1 vs A3, Colombo Cricket Club
- January 26: B3 vs C1, Singhalese Sports Club
- January 27: A1 vs D3, P. Sara Oval.
- January 27: D2 vs A3, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 27: B1 vs C2, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 28: B2 vs C3, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- January 28: D1 vs A2, Nondescripts Cricket Club
- January 30: Semi-final 1, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- February 1: Semi-final 2, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
- February 4: Final, R. Premadasa International Cricket Stadium
Also read, Seven Caribbean Countries to host T20 World Cup 2024
