Scotland's U19 World Cup Squad: Newcomers Thaker and Tekale Revealed Amid Tough Group

Head coach Keegan Russell said the inclusion of Shlok Thaker and Shreyas Tekale was exciting and praised their hard work. He highlighted Thaker's strong response to missing out on the ICC Europe Qualifier, noting that he took on feedback, trained intensely, returned fitter and stronger and is now bowling at his best, which Russell said was pleasing to see.

"It's exciting to welcome Shlok and Shreyas into the squad, and we're really happy to see the work they've put in to get to this stage," head coach Keegan Russell said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"Shlok was with us as part of the wider training squad, and unfortunately missed out on a place at the [ICC Europe] Qualifier. He's gone away and taken on board the feedback, put a huge amount into his training, and come back fitter and stronger, and is now bowling the best that we've seen him. It's really pleasing to see that approach he's taken, responding to what could be seen as a setback, and he's come back stronger for it," Russel said further.

Russell said Shreyas Tekale earned his selection after impressing on the U17 tour of Ireland at the Celtic Cup, overcoming a challenging path into squads and making strong progress this year, with performances that caught the selectors' attention.

"Shreyas had a great tour in Ireland with the U17 squad at the Celtic Cup, and proved a real handful on the wickets over there. He's had a tough journey in terms of the teams he's had to graft to get into, and as someone who wasn't in our wider squad at the start of the year, he's come on a great deal and turned heads with some of his performances, so he deserves his selection," he said.

Thaker and Tekale were absent from the ICC Europe Qualifier in August, which Scotland went on to win in Dundee.

The Under-19 World Cup squad will depart for South Africa on December 30 for a training camp in Potchefstroom, before travelling to Zimbabwe for warm-up matches against India in Bulawayo and Bangladesh in Harare. Drawn in Group C of the 16-team tournament, Scotland will face England, Pakistan and Zimbabwe.

Scotland begin their campaign on the opening day, January 15, against hosts Zimbabwe in Harare, before taking on Pakistan and England at the same venue. At the 2024 tournament, Scotland lost all three group games but finished with a win over Namibia in the 16th-place playoff.

Scotland squad for Under-19 World Cup 2026:

Thomas Knight (capt), Finlay Carter, Max Chaplin, George Cutler, Rory Grant, Finlay Jones, Ollie Jones, Ali Khan, Olly Pillinger, Ethan Ramsay, Theo Robinson, Manu Saraswat, Shlok Thaker, Shreyas Tekale, Jake Woodhouse.

- ANI