Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup 2023: India squad, match dates, groups, significance

Captain Shafali Verma batting for India during the U-19 Women's T20 World Cup 2023, in South Africa. (Image source: Twitter/Mithali Raj)

The ongoing Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup is the first age-group world event in the history of women’s cricket and is being held in the T20 format. In contrast, the men’s game has already had 14 editions of the Under-19 World Cup since 1988, all in the 50-over format. In an era where the visibility of women’s cricket continues to see rapid growth, the tournament spotlights the future of the game.

Here's what you need to know about the tournament that started January 14, 2023:

Where is the U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup being played? How long is the tournament?

South Africa are the hosts. Two venues each in as many cities – Benoni and Potchefstroom – are staging the tournament, which began on Saturday, January 14. The World Cup features 42 matches in all.

How many teams are participating?

Sixteen, divided into four groups of four teams each. That’s the most to take part in any global women's cricket tournament. The previous record was eleven, at the 1997 Women’s ODI World Cup.

What are the groups?

Group A: Australia, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and USA

Group B: England, Pakistan, Rwanda and Zimbabwe

Group C: Indonesia, Ireland, New Zealand and West Indies

Group D: India, Scotland, South Africa and the UAE

India pull things back after South Africa's fast start to restrict them to 166/5

Watch the Women's #U19T20WorldCup for FREE on https://t.co/CPDKNxpgZ3 (in select regions)

: https://t.co/QUraquoc46 pic.twitter.com/cdAZkvhasy

— ICC (@ICC) January 14, 2023

What’s the format?

Teams play each other once in their respective groups. Three from each group qualify to the ‘Super Six’, where the 12 teams will be divided into two groups. Group 1 will have the sides who come through from Groups A and D; Group 2 will have teams from Groups B and C.

The two top-placed teams then make the semi-finals, with both fixtures taking place in Potchefstroom on January 27. The final, scheduled for January 29, will be held at the same venue. A reserve day each has been earmarked for the semi-finals as well as the final.

Why is the inaugural edition of a women’s U-19 cricket world tournament being held in the T20 format?

Over the past decade, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has mainly used the 20-over format to grow the women’s game, and take it to new cricket-playing territories. The short, snappy nature of the format has drawn to the sport new audiences previously unfamiliar with the women’s game.

Besides, the ICC awarded T20I status to all matches played between the women's teams of its 104 members from July 1, 2018, onwards. As a result, globally, more women's teams have played T20Is than ODIs, which is played competitive by only 15 countries. A corollary of the ICC’s focus on considering the 20-over format its primary vehicle for growing women’s cricket.

How did the opening-day fixtures go?

UAE took on Scotland in the first match of the World Cup and beat them by six wickets, courtesy Player of the Match Samaira Dharnidharka’s 23 runs and figures of 2 for 22.

India, led by Shweta Sehrawat’s 92 not-out and Shafali Verma’s 45, defeated South Africa by seven wickets.

Bangladesh rode captain Disha Biswas’ superlative opening spell and Dilara Akter’s match-winning 40 to stun Australia with a commanding seven-wicket victory. Vishmi Gunaratne’s 34 and Manudi Nanayakkara’s 32 helped Sri Lanka chase down 99 and consigned USA to a sven-wicket defeat.

What’s the Indian squad make-up like?

Batting allrounders who bowl spin: Shafali Verma, G Trisha, Soumya Tiwari, Sonia Mendhiya

Batter: Shweta Sehrawat

Wicketkeepers: Richa Ghosh and Hrishita Basu

Spinners: Parshavi Chopra, Sonam Yadav, Mannat Kashyap, Archana Devi

Pacers: Falak Naz, Shabnam MD, Titas Sadhu

Pace-bowling allrounder: Hurley Gala

Who is India U-19's head coach?

Former India spinner Nooshin Al Khadeer. A highly successful former coach with the women’s state teams of Hyderabad, Chhattisgarh and Railways, Al Khadeer was in charge of the team during the recently concluded bilateral series against hosts South Africa U-19s, too.

She also oversaw the five-T20 bilateral assignment against the New Zealand Development side that preceded it, in December in Mumbai, and the quadrangular series in Vizag in November, where she was the head coach of eventual champions India U-19s A; India U-19s B, Sri Lanka U-19s B and West Indies U-19s were the other teams in that tournament.

What were India’s preparations like ahead of the World Cup?

They won the bilateral series at home against New Zealand Development 5-0 and continued their unbeaten run in the away-from-home assignment against the South Africa U-19s.

They left for South Africa towards the end of last month and have had substantial time to acclimatise themselves with the conditions.

They had mixed success in the two official warm-ups they played: an 18-run win, led by Shafali Verma’s 3-8 in the first match, against the Australia U-19s, was followed up by a three-run defeat in the second practice game, against Bangladesh U-19s.

Who are India’s toughest opponents in the U-19 World Cup?

It’s likely to be England and Australia, should India proceed to the Super Six and are pooled in the same group as them. Or if they meet them in the semi-finals or the final.

In the preliminary group stage, United Arab Emirates (UAE) could pose the stiffest challenge, though the South African batting line-up put India’s bowlers under severe pressure in the opening game.

A dominating performance by UAE Women U19s against Scotland Women U19s to start their World Cup with a bang#U19T20WorldCup pic.twitter.com/8jFwSN141s

— AsianCricketCouncil (@ACCMedia1) January 14, 2023

As for the UAE U-19s, several players from their U-19 World Cup squad are regulars in the senior national team, which faced its Indian equivalent in the Women’s Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in October last year. In that tournament, six of UAE’s squad members from the U-19 World Cup featured.

The UAE captain Theertha Satish is one of the most promising young talents in international cricket. The third-highest run-scorer in all women's T20Is in 2022, Satish played with, and against, some of the most formidable names in women’s international cricket during the FairBreak Invitational T20 tournament in Dubai. Pace bowler Mahika Gaur, a tall quick with the tools to rattle opposition line-ups, is another UAE player who could ask questions of India.

Who are some of the standout Indian players to watch out for?

The presence of senior India batting phenoms, Shafali Verma and Richa Ghosh, who have 121 international caps between, lends India U-19s obvious power-hitting might and experience.

Much of the balance in the squad comes from the 16-year-old Mumbai pace-bowling allrounder Hurley Gala, who bowls at a good pace, can be skiddy, and bolsters the middle-order with the bat.

Fast bowler Shabnam MD, 15, from Andhra Pradesh could be a long-term prospect for Indian women’s cricket. She regularly clocks 108kph and has a potent bouncer and yorker in her armoury. Though she was taken off the attack after going for 20 runs in the first over of the game, expect her to make a strong comeback in the upcoming matches.

Delhi’s Shweta Sehrawat, who led the team during the home series against New Zealand Development and is Verma’s deputy at the U-19 World Cup, scored heavily in the U-19 domestic season over the past 12 months. She is a key cog in the batting unit alongside fellow right-hander Soumya Tiwari, who hails from Madhya Pradesh. The fourth-highest run-getter in the quadrangular series, Tiwari, 17, slotted in as the opener for most of the matches India U-19s played ahead of the U-19 World Cup. She is, however, likely to continue in a middle-order role in the forthcoming matches given Sehrawat's 77-run opening stand with Verma in the first match, where Tiwari came in at No. 4 and made a 14-ball 10.

Among spinners, left-arm spinner Mannat Kashyap from Punjab could make a splash with her accurate lines and knack for providing breakthroughs, as well as attempting to run out the non-striker backing up.

India have a well-rounded squad and look serious contenders to, at least, make the semi-finals. Another two steps from there and it could mean a maiden women’s world title for India. This U-19 side have what it takes to go all the way.