Tokyo [Japan], December 10 (ANI): The 18-year-old Kazuma Kato-Stafford will captain Japan for the upcoming ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup. The ICC match will probably be performed in January-February 2026 in Namibia and Zimbabwe, in keeping with ESPNcricinfo.
Former Japan captain Nikhil Pol and all-rounder Timothy Moore, who missed the latest Asian Cricket Council Premier Cup in Ajman in November-December, are included within the Under-19 squad for the World Cup.
In the Premier Cup, Japan recorded a optimistic consequence towards the Maldives. They defeated the Maldives by 366 runs after smashing 422/7 of their 50 overs. Japan then thrashed Qatar by 183 runs. However, they misplaced to Oman, which value them a spot within the semifinals.
Japan’s Nihar Parmar, who performed an outstanding knock of 156 runs off 132 deliveries towards Maldives and Kobayashi-Doggett, who hammered 106 in 73 balls towards Qatar, are each within the World Cup squad.
Japan are drawn in Group A alongside defending champions Australia, Ireland, Sri Lanka, Tanzania and West Indies. They will depart for Southern Africa on January 5 and play just a few warm-up fixtures earlier than the beginning of the match.
Kendel Kadowaki-Fleming, the captain of the senior males’s workforce, is the assistant coach for the Under-19 workforce. Reo Sakurano-Thomas, lively senior workforce cricketer, is the workforce’s head coach.
The ICC Men’s U19 Cricket World Cup 2026 will kick off on January 15, with five-time champions India set to tackle the USA, whereas hosts Zimbabwe play Scotland and debutants Tanzania tackle the West Indies on the opening day. The match, with the ultimate on February 6, will showcase the best up-and-coming expertise from the taking part sides.
The format will probably be just like earlier iterations, with 16 groups divided into teams of 4 within the first stage. 41 matches will probably be performed over 23 days, as per ICC. Zimbabwe and Namibia will co-host it. The defending champions, Australia, who beat India within the 2024 finals, will begin their marketing campaign towards Ireland on day two at Windhoek, Namibia.
Japan squad for ICC Men’s Under-19 World Cup: Kazuma Kato-Stafford (captain), Charles Hara-Hinze, Gabriel Hara-Hinze, Montgomery Hara-Hinze, Kaisei Kobayashi-Doggett, Timothy Moore, Skyler Nakayama-Cook, Ryuki Ozeki, Nihar Parmar, Nikhil Pol, Chihaya Sekine, Hugo Tani-Kelly, Sandev Aaryan Waduge, Kai Wall, Taylor Waugh. (ANI)