The International Cricket Council on Thursday (October 24) announced the schedule of Under-19 World Cup 2020, slated to be held in South Africa.
As per the itinerary, defending champions India will begin their campaign against Sri Lanka on January 19 at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
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Four-time champions India have been slotted in Group A with New Zealand and Japan being the other two teams. The Boys in Blue will face Japan and New Zealand on January 21 and January 24 respectively in the 16-team tournament, starting on January 17 and culminating on February 9.
Australia, the runner-up of 2018 edition, have been grouped alongside West Indies, England and Nigeria in Group B.
Pakistan, Bangladesh, Zimbabwe and Scotland will form Group C while hosts South Africa will play Afghanistan, United Arab Emirates and Canada in Group D.
“The 13th edition of the tournament, being played as per the format used in previous editions, with the second phase dividing the teams into Super League and Plate tournaments. The top two teams from each of the four groups advance to the Super League while the remaining teams feature in the Plate championship,” ICC said in a media release.
“The top 11 full Members in the last edition in New Zealand and the five regional champions, who have qualified for the event, will also play warm-up matches from 12-15 January in Johannesburg and Pretoria,” the press release further added.
The JB Marks Oval in Potchefstroom will be a key venue as it hosts two Super League quarterfinals, both semi-finals and the final.
