Mumbai batter Ayush Mhatre has been appointed captain of the India Under-19 squad for the ACC Men’s U-19 Asia Cup, scheduled to take place in the UAE from December 12 to 21. The 15-member squad announced by the BCCI also features aggressive opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, who was recently in the spotlight after India A's semi-final exit in the Rising Stars Asia Cup.
Vihaan Malhotra has been named vice-captain for the tournament, which serves as a crucial preparatory event ahead of the 2026 U-19 ODI World Cup.
Mhatre's selection as captain comes despite a mixed run of form in recent months. While he impressed in IPL 2025 with Chennai Super Kings, scoring 240 runs at a strike rate of nearly 189, his performances in subsequent youth tours were inconsistent. He managed just 27 runs in four one-dayers against England but topped the charts in the Youth Tests with 340 runs.
Similarly, his returns during the Australia tour and domestic season were modest, although he recently struck form with an unbeaten 110 off 53 balls for Mumbai in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s inclusion follows a controversial episode in the Rising Stars Asia Cup semi-final against Bangladesh, where his absence from the Super Over lineup sparked debate after India A's defeat.
The decision, defended by captain Jitesh Sharma as a team call, backfired as India failed to score in the tie-breaker. Sooryavanshi will look to make amends in the upcoming tournament, where India are placed in Group A alongside Pakistan and two qualifying teams.
India will begin their campaign on December 12 against a qualifier, with the clash against Pakistan set for December 14 at the ICC Academy in Dubai. The squad is currently fine-tuning its preparations in a tri-series at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where India U-19 A will face Afghanistan U-19 in the final on Sunday.
Kishan Kumar Singh’s participation remains subject to fitness clearance, while Rahul Kumar, Hemchudeshan J, B.K. Kishore, and Aditya Rawat have been named as standby players.
Ayush Mhatre (C), Vihaan Malhotra (VC), Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), Yuvraj Gohil, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A. Patel, Naman Pushpak, D. Deepesh, Henil Patel, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan, Aaron George