The 2025 ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup is all set to begin amidst a lot of fanfare and excitement, as the next generation of stars take the stage in the shortest format.
This is the second edition of the competition, with the inaugural edition held back in 2023 where India, led by Shefali Verma, were crowned champions.
This time, the tournament is slated to be held in Malaysia with 16 teams participating in the tournament.
The format explained
The 16 teams are divided into groups of four, and will play each other in a round-robin format.
Following the end of the group stage, the top three teams from each group advance into the ‘Super Six’ where the advancing 12 teams will be divided into two groups of six.
The teams that qualify from Group A will face two qualifiers from Group D, while the teams from Group B will compete against two qualifiers from Group C.
Points earned from matches against other qualifying teams in the same group will carry over into the Super Six League.
The two matches in Super Six will be played by teams who finished in different positions in their respective groups.
For example, Group A winners will play the second and third-placed teams from Group D, and so on.
The top two teams from each Super Six League will advance to the semi-finals, with the final scheduled for February 2, 2025.
Defending champions India boast a strong squad
India, coming into this tournament with the aim of making it two in two in the competition, have a formidable squad led by Niki Prasad. Sanika Chalke will act as her deputy.
Three names – Gongadi Trisha, Shabnam Shakil, and Sonam Yadav – were part of the title-winning team of 2023. Their experience will go a long way for the first-timers in navigating through crunch times.
Furthermore, 16-year-old wicketkeeper batter Kamalini G from Tamil Nadu, who made headlines in the WPL mini-auction, is also in the team and is expected to play a key role for the side.
The explosive batter fetched a whopping INR 1.6 crore in the mini-auction from Mumbai Indians.
The women’s team will be confident coming into this tournament thanks to their recent victory in the Women’s U19 T20 Asia Cup.
Trisha, who scored 159 runs in the tournament, and Aayushi Shukla, who topped the wicket-taking charts with 10 scalps, are the other players to keep an eye out for.
India are in Group A along with Malaysia, West Indies and Sri Lanka, and will begin their title defense against West Indies on January 19.
Indian squad for the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup
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, and Vaishnavi S.
Standby players: Nandhana S, Ira J, Anadi T.
Indian fixtures at the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup
India vs West Indies, January 19, 12:00 PM
India vs Malaysia, January 21, 12:00 PM
India vs Sri Lanka, January 23, 12:00 PM.
Where to watch the ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup?
The matches will be telecasted on the Star Sports 2 and Star Sports 2 HD channels and will also be live-streamed on the Disney+Hotstar app.
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