Niki Prasad to captain the Indian women's cricket team in U19 World Cup

Youngster Niki Prasad is set to lead the Indian women's cricket team in the upcoming ICC Under-19 Women's T20 World Cup, which will be played in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, next year.

The youngster will lead the 15-member squad in the tournament starting from January 18th. Sanika Chalke will be the vice-captain.

The squad has two wicketkeepers Kamalini G and Bhavika Ahire, while three standby players, Nandhana S, Ira J, and Anadi T, have also been included.

The 16 competing teams have been divided into four groups.

India are the defending champions and are placed in Group A alongside hosts Malaysia, West Indies, and Sri Lanka.

India will begin their campaign against West Indies on January 19, followed by matches against Malaysia (January 21) and Sri Lanka (January 23).

The tournament will follow the Super Six format with the top three teams from each group moving to the next round. The Super Six stage will have two groups of six.

Group One in Super Six will include the top three teams each from Group A and D, while Group Two will have the top three teams each from Group B and C.

The teams will carry forward their points and net run rates (NRR) from the initial group phase and will play the two sides who were not in their original group and who finished at a different position.

The top two sides from the two Super 6 stage groups will qualify for the semifinals, slated for January 31 while the final will be played on February 2.

Indian Squad for U19 Women's T20 World Cup

India squad: Niki Prasad (captain), Sanika Chalke (vice-captain), G Trisha, Kamalini G (wk), Bhavika Ahire (wk), Ishwari Awasare, Mithila Vinod, Joshitha VJ, Sonam Yadav, Parunika Sisodiya, Kesari Drithi, Aayushi Shukla, Anandita Kishor, MD Shabnam, Vaishnavi S.

Standby players: Nandhana S, Ira J, Anadi T.