Cricket's finest young talent will be on display when the ICC U19 World Cup 2016 starts in Chittagong, Bangladesh, on Wednesday, 27 January, with South Africa opening its title defence against host Bangladesh and England facing Fiji.
Starry-eyed teenagers drawn from nine Test-playing nations and seven Associate and Affiliate Members — Afghanistan, Canada, Fiji, Namibia, Nepal, Ireland and Scotland — will battle for supremacy in 19-day event that will unveil stars of future.
Teams have been divided into four groups with the top two in each advancing to the Super league quarter-finals and the other two qualifying for the Plate Championships.
Three-time winner India is coached by batting great Rahul Dravid and captained by wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan, who hails from Jharkhand, the same state as World Cup-winning skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
England, seeking to end 18-year drought after winning its only title way back in 1998, is led by Brad Taylor, an off-spinning allrounder from Hampshire who is one of nine players in the squad to have played county cricket at the senior level.
Two-time champion Pakistan warmed up for the tournament by winning a tri-series against Australia and New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates earlier this month, albeit on run-rates after all three teams secured two wins each in the double-leg event.
South Africa will defend the title under Tony de Zorzi, hoping to repeat its UAE performance where it defeated Pakistan in the final to make up for two runners-up spots in 2002 and 2008.
India, which faces NZ, Ireland and Nepal in Group D, has one of the strongest batting line-ups in the tournament led by Sarfaraz Khan.
Kapil wishes luck to team
Former India captain and legendary all-rounder Kapil Dev on Tuesday wished good luck to the players taking part in the ICC U-19 World Cup in Bangladesh.
"Good luck to all the boys participating in the tournament. They can write their own destiny," said Dev.
"Many Test and ODI teams are going through a transition phase and the ICC U-19 WC will enable them to take a look at young players. We have seen so many young boys become men after this tournament," added Dev.