Vihaan Malhotra named vice-captain of India’s U19 World Cup squad

Talented southpaw Vihaan Malhotra, who was signed by RCB at the IPL 2026 Auction, was picked as India’s vice-captain for the U-19 World Cup to be played in January 2026.

Prior to the World Cup, the squad will face off against South Africa in a bilateral series, for which opening sensation Vaibhav Sooryavanshi has been named captain.

Malhotra will serve as deputy for Ayush Mhatre, with the latter currently recovering and set to miss out on the South Africa series. Both the players will be reporting to BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru to manage their wrist injuries and join the team for the U-19 World Cup.

Mhatre recently captained India charge in the recently concluded U-19 Asia Cup in Dubai. India finished runners-up in the tournament with Vaibhav Suryavanshi belting out 261 runs from just five games.

The three ODIs against South Africa will be played in Benoni on January 3rd, 5th and 7th post which the World Cup will follow suit on January 15th.

India are placed alongside New Zealand, USA and Bangladesh in Group B. They will be kickstarting their campaign with a clash against USA in Bulawayo followed by contests against Bangladesh on January 17th and New Zealand on January 24th.

The tournament will feature 16 teams divided in four groups of four teams each in the first round. The top three from each group will be making the cut for the following round where there will be two groups comprising six teams each. The top two teams from each group in the second round will advance to the semi-finals and consequently the finale which is to be played on February 6th in Harare.

India Under-19 squad for SA tour:

Vaibhav Suryavanshi (capt), Aaron George (vc), Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan, Yuvraj Gohil, Rahul Kumar

India squad for 2026 Under-19 World Cup:

Ayush Mhatre (capt), Vihaan Malhotra (vc), Vaibhav Suryavanshi, Aaron George, Vedant Trivedi, Abhigyan Kundu (wk), Harvansh Singh (wk), RS Ambrish, Kanishk Chouhan, Khilan A Patel, Mohamed Enaan, Henil Patel, D Deepesh, Kishan Kumar Singh, Udhav Mohan