Age Discrepancy Costs Rohit Yadav His Place in India U-19 Squads

India’s under-19 selection panel has been forced into a late reshuffle ahead of the home series against Australia, with legspinner Rohit Yadav withdrawn from both the One-Day and Multi-Day squads due to age discrepancies.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India confirmed the development on Tuesday, with Aryan Savsani and Tanmay Baloda named as replacements. Savsani, representing the Saurashtra Cricket Association, will take Yadav’s place in the One-Day squad, while Haryana’s Baloda comes into the Multi-Day group.

Yadav had been a consistent performer on the recent tour of Sri Lanka, claiming six wickets in the two-match four-day series. His removal represents a significant blow to the spin bowling stocks, though the selectors have moved swiftly to address the void.

The three One-Day matches are scheduled for September 18, 21 and 23 in Rajkot, followed by two four-day fixtures on September 27-30 in Rajkot and October 5-8 in Ahmedabad.

Lakshya Raichandani will captain the One-Day side, with Yashbardhan Chauhan serving as his deputy. The pair will swap roles for the Multi-Day fixtures, with Chauhan leading the longer-format squad.

Raichandani arrives with strong form behind him. The Uttarakhand batter finished as the leading run-scorer on the Sri Lanka tour, amassing 307 runs in the two four-day matches at an average of 153.50. His double-century of 207 in Galle was followed by an unbeaten 100 in Colombo. He has also played four first-class matches, scoring 223 runs with three half-centuries.

The One-Day squad features two names that will catch the attention of Indian cricket followers. Aaryavir Sehwag and Anvay Dravid, sons of former India captains Virender Sehwag and Rahul Dravid respectively, are both included. Dravid was part of the India U-19 side that toured Sri Lanka in July, where he made 87 in the second One-Day game. He is one of two wicketkeepers in the squad alongside Rajat Baghel.

Several other members of the current squad also impressed on that Sri Lanka tour. Sagar Virk scored 134 in the first four-day game, while Manal Chauhan and Kushagra Ojha contributed 150 and 111 respectively in the second. The revised squads now stand as follows:

India U19 One-Day squad:

Lakshya Raichandani (c), Yashbardhan Chauhan (vc), Rajat Baghel (wk), Aaryavir Sehwag, V.K. Vineet, Kushagra Ojha, Arjun Rajput, Manal Chauhan, Anvay Dravid (wk), V. Yashveer, Shavin Vinodh, Mohit Ulva, Chigurupati Venkata, Kavya Patel, Aryan Savsani

India U19 Multi-Day squad:

Yashbardhan Chauhan (c), Lakshya Raichandani (vc), Sagar Virk, Kushagra Ojha, Manal Chauhan, Kush Patel, Manav Krishna (wk), Abhipray Biswas (wk), Ishan Om, Ayaan Akram, Pranav Ragavendra, Priyanshu Singh, Mohit Ulva, Aryan Yadav, Tanmay Baloda

The series represents an important preparatory block for India’s under-19 setup as they build towards future international assignments.

                                               

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