Sehwag and Dravid Sons Named in India Squad for Under-19 Asia Cup in Muscat

India named a 15 player squad on Friday for the ACC Men's Under-19 Asia Cup in Muscat, and two names drew the eye at once. Aaryavir Sehwag, son of former India opener Virender Sehwag, and Anvay Dravid, son of former India captain and head coach Rahul Dravid, both made the squad for the tournament, which runs from November 5 to 14 in Oman.

Lakshya Raichandani will captain the side, with Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan named vice-captain. The BCCI said its Junior Cricket Committee picked the squad on October 30. IANS reported that the committee is led by newly appointed selector Parvinder Awana. Rajat Baghel joins Dravid as the second wicketkeeper in the group.

Two famous surnames, and the runs behind them

Sehwag is a top-order batter who opened for India in the recent one-day series against Australia Under-19s and scored 28, 47 and 34 as India swept that series 3-0. IANS reported that he also hit 173 from 143 balls for Delhi against Chandigarh in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy. Dravid is the side's first-choice wicketkeeper. He scored 38 and 9 in the two one-dayers he played against Australia, after making 87 from 67 balls in the one-day leg of the Sri Lanka tour. IANS reported that he scored 358 runs in five innings for Karnataka in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy, with two centuries and a fifty.

The captain sets the standard

Raichandani was the leading batter in the four-day games against Australia, scoring 250 runs in three innings, with a top score of 240 in the first game. Chauhan was the best batter in the one-dayers, with 176 runs in two innings and a century in the second game. India blanked Australia 2-0 in the four-day series and 3-0 in the one-dayers in September and October. Before that, India beat Sri Lanka 1-0 in a two match four-day series in Sri Lanka but lost the one-day series there 2-1. Sportskeeda reported that 13 of the 15 players were in the squad for the Australia series, with Aryan Savsani and Ishan Sood the only new faces. IANS reported that Sood took 13 wickets in eight matches at an average of 23 in the Vinoo Mankad Trophy.

The full squad is Lakshya Raichandani (captain), Aaryavir Sehwag, V.K. Vineeth, Yashbardhan Singh Chauhan (vice-captain), Kushagra Ojha, Arjun Rajput, Manal Chauhan, Anvay Dravid (wicketkeeper), Rajat Baghel (wicketkeeper), V. Yashveer, Aryan Savsani, Mohit Ulva, Kavya Patel, Shavin Vinod and Ishan Sood.

Group, fixtures and the Pakistan date

India are in Group A with defending champions Pakistan, Nepal and the United Arab Emirates. Group B has Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. The top two teams in each group reach the semi-finals on November 12, and the final is on November 14. India open against Nepal on November 6 at OCC Turf 1 in Muscat, then play Pakistan at the same ground on November 8, and finish the group stage against the UAE on November 10 at OCC Turf 2. IANS reported that India are the most successful team in the tournament with eight titles, and that they finished runners-up last year, losing the final to Pakistan by 191 runs. That record gives the November 8 meeting an edge before a ball is bowled.