New Zealand pull out of upcoming U19 World Cup

The New Zealand Under-19 team, will not be a part of the upcoming U19 World Cup, scheduled to be held in the West Indies.

The Black Caps decided to withdraw due to mandatory quarantine restrictions for minors they would have faced upon return from the tournament.

New Zealand will now be replaced by Scotland in competitive Group D, which also features hosts West Indies, Australia and Sri Lanka.

The upcoming event will be played in the Caribbean for the first time in its 14-edition history and will begin with a contest between hosts West Indies and Australia on January 14. The final of the showpiece event will be held on February 5.

Defending champions Bangladesh is placed in Group A alongside England, Canada and UAE while four-time champions India, one of the most successful team in the event’s history, are placed with South Africa, Ireland and Uganda in Group B.

Afghanistan, Pakistan, PNG and Zimbabwe compose Group C.

As per the schedule, the tournament will be held across 10 venues in four countries – Antigua and Barbuda, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis and Trinidad and Tobago.

Significantly, the upcoming edition will be the fourteenth edition of the U19 Cricket World Cup and for the first time it will be staged held in the West Indies.

Earlier in March 2021, Cricket West Indies (CWI) had confirmed that the format would be the same as previous editions, with teams competing to progress to the Plate and Super League phases of the tournament. Recently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) had announced the full schedule for the tournament.

Notably, hosts West Indies have lifted the Under-19 World Cup once, Australia thrice, Pakistan twice while England, South Africa and Bangladesh have won it once each. India have been crowned champions four times.

ICC U19 Men’s Cricket World Cup Groupings:

Group A- Bangladesh, England, Canada, United Arab Emirates

Group B- India, Ireland, South Africa, Uganda

Group C- Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe

Group D – Australia, Scotland, Sri Lanka, West Indies

News Desk

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